The Price of This Love
by xXSnowFlameXx
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi has never known the word love considering all he's ever known was abuse, ignorance, and hate that came from the family he still cared about, even after all they've done to him. As Reborn enters the scene, will the Sawada's realize their mistakes or continue on treating Tsuna as trash. Will they be able to stay together Pairings: R27, 8072, G02, and one-sided 1827.
1. Chapter 1

Tsuna stared up at his father with tears in his eyes, fear and horror flooding his system. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he mumbled repeatedly, his hands crossed over his face as he laid in a fetal position. He didn't mean to, he really didn't. It was an accident and Nana had pushed him, causing him to stumble and spill the coffee onto Iemitsu's shirt. Said women stood in the doorway to the kitchen, an evil smirk plastered on her face.

"Sorry? You think being sorry will fix my shirt you little brat?!" Slap, punch, another slap, a kick this time. A few punches to the gut, another kick to the side. He sucked in a deep breath when the beating stopped, only to have it knocked out of him again when a foot connected with his chest. He hacked and coughed, a hand over his mouth as he tried to stifle the sounds. He didn't want his brothers to hear, he didn't want them to know.

"Iemitsu, the blood will stain the floor," Nana said, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder. Iemitsu grunted in response and straightened up, a look of disgust present on his face as he stared down at Tsuna.

"Tell your brothers anything and you'll regret it. Understand?" Tsuna nodded quickly, cradling his left arm. The last beating, it was almost dislocated. He was sure that this one would finish it but he was thankful it didn't. "Now go before I decide to do more, brat!" Tsuna nodded again, scrambling up the stairs, closing and locking his room door behind him. He breathed a small sigh of relief, sinking down to the floor.

H-he had to check his wounds, t-to see if any had reopened...

He peeled off his shirt as he stood in front of his body length mirror, eyes roaming over his body as he eyed the blue and purple bruises blooming all over. His eyes landed on an opened wound on his side, blood slowly oozing out. He turned and opened his closet, searching through the very back until he pulled out a small white box with a red plus sign in the center. Tonight was going to be a long night, he noted, for the bruises still ached and the wound wouldn't stop bleeding.

~Time Skip~

Tsuna sighed as he turned off his alarm. He had woken up during the night to change his bandages which were soaked in blood. After that, he had not been able to fall back to sleep so he had played around with a few old games he had for a bit. After getting bored with that, he decided to just lay down on his bed and wait for sleep to take him. Of course, this didn't happen. So he's been up since three in the morning and now has to survive the day with only three hours of sleep.

He slowly got out of bed and did his morning routine, quietly making his way down the stairs to make a small breakfast and be on his way to school. He always wakes up earlier than the others as to not bother them any more than they'd like. His brothers just think he's an early riser while his parents know they're to blame. He finished his slice of toast and drank the last of his tea, washing and putting away the dishes. He was about to grab his bag on the kitchen counter when he heard two pairs of footsteps running down the stairs.

"Ah! Tsuna! Guess what today is!" Natsu yelled as he burst into the kitchen. Natsuyama, or Natsu for short was a tall boy, now at the age of 16, with wild, untamable, spiky, honey-brown hair. With fair, tanned skin, sunset colored eyes, along with a lean, slightly muscular figure, he was the target of most of the female population in school. Adding his perfect grades and athleticism, he was one of the most popular boys in his grade. Ieyatsu, or better known as Giotto, was a year and a half older than Natsu, sharing the same hairstyle although a golden blonde and the same colored eyes and a figure with a bit more muscle, he was also the target for many. Adding to the fact that he's perfect at everything but cooking, he's the first choice of all girls in the third year.

Tsuna flinched back slightly at the sight of his brothers. His parents didn't like him being around them for too long, scared that his bad luck might rub off on them. "W-what day i-is it?" he asked, hugging his school bag to his chest and taking a step back.

"It's our birthday today! Isn't that awesome!" Natsu said with excitement, pumping his fists into the air. Tsuna stared confused at his brother? His and who's birthday? Giotto's birthday was next year and it certainly couldn't be his. His was...tomorrow.

"W-what're you t-t-talking about, N-Natsu-san?" Tsuna asked, the grip on his bag loosening slightly.

"Don't call me that, Tsuna. We're brothers, twins even. I may be older but it doesn't mean I'm above you. And today's our birthday, mine and yours." Tsuna shook his head and took another step back.

"Y-you were t-ten minutes b-before me. M-my birthday i-is t-t-tomorrow." Natsu's smile dropped and he glared at Tsuna, taking a step towards him.

"What do you mean your birthday is tomorrow? Mom and dad didn't say a thing! How come you didn't tell us?" He asked, placing his hands on Tsuna's shoulders. Tsuna flinched, an automatic reaction when others got too close.

"I-it's n-n-not important. B-besides, y-you never bothered to r-re-remember any other y-year so I-I thought this y-year would be the s-same."

"What the hell is with all the yelling?! Tsuna, you brat! I swear if it's you!" Tsuna jumped as he let out a squeak, breaking away from Natsu's grip and backing away.

"I-I have to go!" He took off in a full sprint out the door, not bothering to wait for their response as he ran, ran like that devil was after him. But in his case, even the devil would be better than his father at any moment. He stopped once he reached the school gates, half an hour before time, and panting for breath, using the wall to hold himself up. Once he had regained his breath and stopped his erratic heartbeat, he stood and walked into the building, keeping watch of any bullies that might be around.

~Back at Home~

Natsu and Giotto stared blankly at the door before the footsteps of their parents snapped them out of their daze. Giotto watched as Iemitsu came down wearing a pair of sweat pants and a bath robe while Nana came down in a night dress and pink, fuzzy slippers. She yawned but smiled when she saw them.

Now back to the problem at hand. They had forgotten his birthday, and it wasn't the first time they've done it. How many times has it been? How long have they been doing it? Have... Have they ever actually celebrated his birthday? Natsu blinked when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up to see his mother and father smiling down at him, the latter ruffling his hair.

"Come on, Na-kun! Today's your special day and Mama's gonna make a huge breakfast for it. Gio-kun you stay out of the kitchen." Giotto, who had brightened at the word breakfast, was now huddled in a corner, mumbling to

himself.

"It's alright Giotto, dad's not that great either so we can both sit down together. Now, where's that Dame brother of yours?" Both brothers flinched at the way their father addressed Tsuna. They know that their parents don't like him (though not about the abuse) but never understood why. After Nana finished breakfast, they all sat around the table in a comfortable silence until Natsu decided to break it.

"Kaa-san, when's Tsuna's birthday?" Natsu asked as he sat. Nana paused before giving a sickly sweet smile.

"His birthday is today, Na-kun. You're twins, remember?"

"But Tsuna said that his birthday is tomorrow cause he was born after me. Ten minutes after."

"Ah, well it doesn't matter. It's only natural to forget once in a while, it's nothing major."

"But we've always been celebrating it on my birthday, the 13th. He was born in the 14th, a different day. That's not once in a while."

"Natsu," Iemitsu said, "Why are you bringing this up now? You've never mentioned it before."

"Cause I didn't know until now. He just told us right before he left! I asked why he didn't say and he said that it wasn't important, and that it wouldn't make any difference since we've been forgetting about it all this time. I mean, that's kinda messed up don't you think? Forgetting your own son's birthday."

"Na-kun, you and Gio-kun need to eat up or you'll be late!" Nana warned as she pointed to the clock. "Don't you two have practice today?" Both turned and squeaked at the time, wolfing down the rest of their breakfast, collecting their bentos, and disappearing out the door. Nana's smile turned into a glare as she stomped upstairs to Tsuna's room. Tsuna would be in for a big surprise when he gets home.

~Time Skip~

Tsuna stared up at the sign in front of him reading, 'Reception Room'. He sighed and looked down at the two wrapped bentos in his hands. He gave a quiet knock on the door and almost jumped when he heard an equally quiet, 'come in'. Slowly opening the door and peaked his head in. Hibari Kyouya, known as the demon of Namimori, with silk, black hair that draped into his face, creating an 'M', pale peach skin with a flawless complexion, and a lean figure sat behind a desk in front of an open window.

"What is it, usagi-herbivore?" he asked as he stood. Tsuna held back a squeak when Hibari's eyes met his, a beautiful grayed jade blue that held extreme intensity, as if locking on its prey. Tsuna opened the door wider as he stepped in, closing the door behind him.

"I-I brought l-l-lunch H-Hibari-san," he stuttered as he stepped closer to the disciplinary prefect. He took the top bento, wrapped in a purple silk cloth, and stretched his hand towards Hibari. Hibari eyed the bento suspiciously, cautiously reaching out to grab it.

"Why?" he asked, opening the lid. He took the pair of chopsticks Tsuna provided and sat, pulling the boy down next to him.

"Y-you helped m-me w-wh-when no one e-else w-would." He opened his own bento as he begun eating.

"I don't tolerate violence in my school usagi-herbivore."

"Still, thank you Hibari-san." Hibari paused, it was the first time the herbivore had talked to him without stuttering. And he swore he saw a bit of gold in his caramel brown eyes. He 'hn'ed in response and they ate in a comfortable silence as time passed. When the bell rung, Tsuna quickly gathered his things, taking the empty bento from Hibari.

"D-did you enj-joy it Hi-Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked, placing the box in his bag. He gazed up at Hibari with a wary smile, hugging his bag to his chest.

"Hn, it was good. Did your mother make it?"

"Ah, n-no. She d-doesn't m-m-make food for m-me. I-I made it myself."

"Hm. Alright, back to class."

"U-um..."

"What?" Hibari asked, eyeing the hopeful eyed boy in question, a light feeling in his stomach.

"A-are we... Are we f-friends now, H-Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked, looking down at the ground with his hands tightly around his bag, rocking back and forth on his heels. He frowned when Hibari said nothing, thinking that he had overstepped his boundaries. He went to turn but stopped when he felt a hand on his head. He looked up and noticed the small, near invisible, smile on Hibari's face. "I-is that a- a yes?"

"Hn. Now get to class, here's a note." He handed Tsuna a small slip of paper and ushered him out the room, sending Kusakabe, his vice, along with him to class. Tsuna smiled as the walked, only one thought going through his mind.

I have a real friend...

~With Natsu~

Natsu sighed in annoyance. Tsuna had come back to class late with a note from Hibari. The entire class had quieted down when he said that, and the teacher hadn't believed him. But when Tetsuya had come in saying that Hibari wanted to see him at the end of school, no one dared object. Tsuna only nodded quietly with a small smile, one that Natsu hadn't seen in a while. He frowned. What could Hibari have done to make Tsuna so happy just by the mention of his name?

Natsu watched as his brother quietly walked over to his seat, tripped over someone's outstretched foot, got up and brushed it off like it was nothing, then sat down without a word. That's the thing. He's never heard Tsuna speak at school before. Even when the teachers call on him, he stays quiet. And all teachers know this but they call on him anyway. He also knows that Tsuna gets bullied repeatedly, on a daily basis even, but he's never once said anything about it before. Not to him, or Giotto, or their parents. He wants to help, but he doesn't know if his brother would appreciate it.

"Hey, Tsuna?" Natsu called as his brother sat in the seat next to him. He frowned when Tsuna flinched, slowly turning towards him without making eye contact. "How come you were with Hibari-san?" he asked.

"L-lunch...to-together," he mumbled, still refusing to make eye contact. And that was it. Any other question he asked, Tsuna would look away and avoid answering. He sighed at the sixth failed attempt to get his brother to speak to him. Why was Tsuna always cautious around him? Had he done something wrong? Had he upset his brother in some way? Is that why?

"Tsuna..." He whispered quietly when the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Tsuna quickly packed his things and was the first one out of the class, as usual. But he was going the opposite way of the school exit, to the Reception Room. Natsu, having a sudden unknown feeling in his gut, quietly followed behind him, making sure to blend into the crowd of students in the hall. He watched, puzzled, as Tsuna knocked on the room door, being greeted by Tetsuya who ushered him inside. What did Hibari want with his brother?

~With Tsuna~

Tsuna sat down stiffly on the couch as he waited for Hibari to speak. He didn't know why he was called here. He hadn't done anything wrong, at least he didn't think he did. Did he do something wrong?

"Usagi-herbivore." He looked up when he heard Hibari's nickname for him, looking said person in the eye with ease. Even though he was the most frightful person in Namimori, he had no problem keeping eye contact with him. He had no reason to be scared, as long as he followed the rules. But, talking was a different matter.

"Y-yes Hi-Hibari-san? Y-you n-n-needed s-something?" He stood when Hibari motioned him over, stopping right in front of the desk.

"You're staying after school to help the D.C. with work, such as filing or sorting out paperwork. Do you have any objections?" he asked.

"N-no, o-of course n-not! B-but, sh-she might get angry i-if I stay out t-too late." Hibari set down his pen, giving a look that asked, 'Who?' "Nana-san, she doesn't l-like it if I'm n-not home in t-time to m-make d-dinner for e-everyone."

"You address your mother by her first name?"

"She doesn't l-like it when I c-call her m-mom. She said it r-reminds her of the b-biggest mistake s-she ever m-made. A-anyway! I w-would have to c-call and t-tell her." Hibari narrowed his eyes as he handed Tsuna his phone, watching as he shakily dialed the numbers.

"Hello?" she answered.

"N-Nana-san?" Tsuna asked, biting his bottom lip. What happened next, made Hibari's skin prick.

"What, you little brat? Why the hell are you calling me? Shouldn't you be on your way home by now? And who's phone is this? You didn't steal it from someone did you? Well, I wouldn't be surprised. You've always been that low. Anyway, what do you want? And make it quick, I don't want to hear your pathetic voice more than I have to."

"U-um, Hibari-san w-wants me to stay a-after school a-and help with D-Disciplinary Com-mmittee work."

"Why? Did you get in trouble for being a failure and bringing the school down? Well I wouldn't expect anything more from Dame-Tsuna. And no, you can't. You're supposed to make dinner."

"B-but-"

"Are you deaf?! You're coming home to make dinner!" Tsuna flinched at the yell and held the phone away from his ear. Hibari, having enough of this, snatched the phone from his hand and cleared his throat.

"Tsunayoshi is staying and helping. If you're so against it, you can come get him yourself, you despicable woman." He hung up before she could respond and sighed with annoyance, massaging the side of his head. "Start with these. Arrange them in alphabetical order from last names." He handed Tsuna a puffed up folder and pointed at a small table to the right of the room.

"H-hai, Hibari-san," Tsuna mumbled as he walked over to the table. Hibari watched for the first ten minutes to make sure Tsuna was doing things right before going back to his own work.

~With Natsu~

Natsu frowned when he heard Hibari speak on the phone. Why would he say that to his mother? Had she said something to annoy him? And he could hear her yelling, though not everything she said, and she sounded angry. But, Tsuna didn't do anything wrong, only asked if he could stay and help. And he had no idea that Tsuna was the one to make their dinners, and he had been thanking their mother for it the entire time. But now that he thought about it, lunch and dinner always did taste different than breakfast. Now he knew why.

He sighed as he waited for Giotto to finish his after school activities so they could walk home together. Should he tell his brother about these things or keep it to himself? Truth be told, he shouldn't even know so maybe he shouldn't say anything. But, he should still tell Tsuna that he knew or it wouldn't feel right. After all, he had to say thank you for all the things he's done for him.

He looked up when he heard his name to see his brother along with his best friend, G, coming up to him. G was three inches taller than his brother with shaggy, pale red -almost pink- hair with fiery red eyes and a tattoo of what seemed to be flames on the right side of his face. G was originally from Italy but moved halfway through his and Giotto's first year, and he and Giotto have been friends since.

"Something wrong, Natsu? You're frowning." Natsu sighed again and shook his head, walking a little faster so he was slightly in front of the two.

"It's nothing, Gio. Just a little stressed from today. Had a hoard of fangirls run after me during lunch so I didn't get to eat much." He shrugged nonchalantly as he said this, as if it were a normal occurrence. Giotto nodded in understanding since he has to go through the same thing on a daily basis, though he could tell there was something else bothering his brother but decided not to press.

"Natsu, do you know where Tsuna is? Isn't he normally walking in front us a few blocks if he doesn't say he's leaving right after?" Giotto questioned, his eyes narrowing once he saw his younger brother stiffen.

"Hibari-san wanted him to go to the Reception Room after classes so I'm guessing he's still there. But that really shocked me when I heard. I wonder what he did to get in trouble."

"I doubt the kid's in trouble. Hibari's taken a liking to him so he's fine, he won't get hurt."

"What do you mean by that, G.? Hibari doesn't act any different towards Tsuna than he would to me or Natsu."

"Then you're an idiot and need to keep a better eye on him. Hibari even had a special nickname for the kid, usagi-herbivore. I wouldn't be surprised if he favors Tsuna over everyone else. He's never late, always dressed by the code, never breaks any rules, and I even saw him bring lunch to Hibari today. Don't tell me you two didn't notice."

Natsu shook his head and Giotto did the same, both with wide eyes. "But, why do you know all of this and we don't?"

"Giotto, when was the last time you talked to Tsuna?" G asked as they started walking again. "This morning why?" "No, I mean an actual talk that lasted more than two minutes. A real conversation?" G sighed when his friend couldn't come up with an answer. Of course his best friend was an idiot when it came to family matters.

"Giotto, do you see the bruises on Tsuna when he leaves in the morning? The way he limps as he walks, the tired look in his eyes? What about the fact that he doesn't talk that much? Or that he stutters so much when he does? He never meets anyone's eyes, he's bullied repeatedly even though his brothers are the most popular people in their grades, even Alaude shows restraint when around the kid and you know that means something."

"Then how come you know all of this when I don't? Aren't I supposed to be his big brother?"

"If you're his big brother then why don't you act like it? I have never seen you talk to the boy in public, Primo! It's like you're always trying to avoid him or something. Do you notice the look in his eyes when you do that? It's hurt, and pain Primo. But apparently you don't care."

"Now wait a minute G.-"

"No, Primo. If you're his older brother then start acting like it. Ask him what's wrong, or if something is bothering him. I'm sure you'll be surprised at what you find out." G frowned when Giotto glared at him, his arms crossed over his chest.

"What's that supposed to mean? You saying you know something I don't?" Giotto asked, nearly sneering as the words left his mouth.

"He's being abused, dammit!" G. screamed in frustration, his face red from anger. "And you two are too much of oblivious idiots to see it!" They all froze when they heard a small thump from behind them. They turned to see Tsuna with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open, his school bag at his feet.

"T-Tsuna, I didn't mean to tell them, it just came out-" G. went to take a step forward only to have Tsuna turn and sprint away. G. growled in frustration and took off after him while the two left behind stared at each other before quickly running after G.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to the following readers who reviewed! **thor94**, **KitsuneNaru**, **animaluvr4life**, **TsunaMoe**, **jessie1987**, **kouhahime,** **Mira So, Crucifix HiME and two guests**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

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**~With Tsuna~**

Tsuna slowed to take a breath once he thought he was far enough, looking around to see if they were still following. Once he heard their footsteps approaching, he was about to start running again only to have someone from the alleyway he was standing in front of pull him in, one hand over his mouth and the other around his chest. He yelled into the hand and struggle but froze when he heard the person's voice.

"Calm down, Tsuna. It's me." Tsuna turned to look at the person with wide eyes, tears pooling in the corner.

"Re...born?"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry Tsuna, it took me a lot longer than I thought it would. But I'm here now, ok? They can't hurt you anymore." Tsuna nodded and turned, resting his head on Reborn's chest, his hands gripping his silk black suit tightly. He sucked in a ragged breath as more tears welled up, and couldn't help it as he let them fall.

"Glad... G-glad you're back." His voice faded as his eyes closed, all his weight leaning on Reborn.

"Tsuna? Oi, Tsuna!" Reborn's eyes narrowed when he felt something warm, wet, and sticky on his hand, recognizing the feeling almost immediately. Blood. He picked Tsuna up bridal style before stepping out of the alleyway, only to run into Natsu, Giotto, and G who were still looking for Tsuna.

"You- What're you doing with Tsuna?" Natsu asked, glowering up at Reborn.

"Reborn? What are you doing here?" G asked in surprise, his left eye twitching.

"I came to get what belongs to me.," Reborn replied as he started walking, "And I can't talk. Tsuna just fainted from blood loss and the hospital is too far away. Do they have a heavy duty first aid kit?"

"Tsunayoshi fainted from blood loss?" Giotto asked in disbelief. "What ‒ but how?" Both Reborn and G sighed, the latter facepalming as they sped up their pace towards the house.

"Yes," G replied, ignoring Giotto completely and instead choosing to answer Reborn's earlier question, "They have a heavy duty first aid kit. I'm pretty sure it has everything you're going to need." Now they were running, the two brothers staying silent in the back.

"Good. How have things been since? And do you have any idea why his side is bleeding?"

"Not sure. He might've gotten roughed up when he was leaving school but it shouldn't be enough to make him bleed from that. Maybe he was hurt before?" Reborn sighed before glancing back at the two, nearly rolling his eyes at their confusion. It seems he came a little late if things were this bad with his brothers.

"I want you to get that first aid kit. You two," the two behind perked up at this, "One of you will get a wet towel to wipe the blood off while the other distracts your parents. Got it?"

"A-ah," Giotto replied, raising an eyebrow. He still didn't understand who this was or where he came from. And he was partially annoyed at the fact that he knew Tsuna even though Tsuna's never even mentioned him before.

"Hai," Natsu replied quietly. He was confused, greatly. He hadn't really considered it before but now that he thought about it, Tsuna's been protecting his side more often today. Plus he was walking kind of funny, the walk you do when you're trying to make as small movements as possible while still actually moving. Maybe he should've asked him about it instead of just brushing it off like normal because, he knows that Tsuna would never come up to him, or anyone else for that matter, and tell him what's wrong.

Reborn and G were the first to enter the house, the former quickly making his way into the living room while the latter went to get the first aid kit. Reborn gently set Tsuna down on the couch, carefully pulling up his vest and uniform shirt. The first thing he saw was the blood soaked bandages. He carefully peeled them off, his eye twitching as he did so. His teeth clenched. There was a deep, recently bothered, stab wound on his side, bleeding like crazy -well that explains all the blood. And it was poorly made too so he knows it wasn't done by a professional. Maybe...

Natsu walked in a moment later with a wet towel and a bowl of clean water, flinching at the sight of Tsuna's side as he handed them to Reborn. How had he not noticed something like this before? It's not something that you could miss easily unless… You were completely ignoring the person. But he hasn't been ignoring Tsuna. Has he? No, he would know if he was ignoring someone because he completely avoids contact with that person all day. So how could he miss something like this?

G. came down a minute later with the first aid kit, popping it open as soon as he set it down. "I…Have been doing a terrible job in watching him," he muttered angrily to himself. He couldn't believe he let something this important slip past him so easily. So much for being better than his brother.

**~With Giotto~**

"Gio-kun, why are you trying so hard to get us to stay in here? And who was that man that came in a moment ago?" Nana smiled sweetly down at Giotto, her hands folded on the table in front of her.

Giotto sighed before shrugging slightly, clearing his throat. "He knows Tsuna, apparently. And G knows him too. But he hasn't told us who he is."

"Giotto," Iemitsu started as his foot tapped impatiently, "Why are you doing this? Nothing you've said explains your reasoning for your out of character behaviour."

"Just wait until he says we can go in, alright? And why are you so on edge about this? It shouldn't matter to you who he is, should it?"

"Well I'd like to know who was in my house," Nana replied, her smile slipping slightly.

"G said he knows him. That automatically gives him a safe. I'm sure it's fine."

"What did G call him?"

"...Reborn, I think. I wasn't really paying attention."

"Reborn? Then we have to go in there right now," Iemitsu said as he stood. Giotto stood right after, blocking the doorway.

"He said you can't go in there so you can't go in there."

"Why are you listening to someone you don't know?"

"Because, currently, he's taking care of Tsuna."

"What's wrong with Tsunayoshi?" Nana asked, standing up as well.

"He's hurt. He fainted from blood loss so Reborn is currently taking care of him. You have to wait in here until he's done."

"Why do we have to wait in here then? We would like to see o-our son, Gio-kun."

Giotto's gaze sharpened at his mother's hesitant stutter.. "...Kaa-san?"

"Yes, Gio-kun?"

"...N-nevermind. But you still can't go out there."

"Is something bothering you Giotto? You can tell us," Iemitsu rested a comforting hand on Giotto's shoulder, offering a tender smile.

Giotto twitched at the action, holding back a sigh. "It's not important as of now. I'll...tell you later, maybe. Right now, Tsuna's condition is more important."

"You still haven't explained what happened," Nana sighed, a flicker of emotion going through her eyes.

Giotto stared at his mother for a moment before looking away, still blocking the two from leaving. "I don't know what happened. Reborn said that he fainted from blood loss and that was it. I don't know how or why and I haven't been told yet."

"Then, are you sure that's what happened? What if Reborn was the one to hurt Tsuna and he was lying?"

"What if you were the ones to hurt Tsuna and you're covering it up by lying about everything?" Giotto blurted out, annoyance tugging at his patience.

The two looked taken aback by his claim, nearly spluttering in denial had they not caught themselves before. "W-what are you talking about Giotto? Why would we hurt Tsuna? He's our son."

"Why would we harm Tsu-kun when we love him?" Giotto closed his eyes, his eyebrow twitching furiously. Love him? Love him?! If they loved even a single hair on that boy's head then they wouldn't treat him the way they do now!

"Then why-"

"Gio," Natsu called as he stepped out of the living room. "That- Reborn guy, said Tsuna should be fine now. He's… He's stitching up the wound."

"What kind of wound is it?"

"A stab wound," Natsu rushed out, glancing cautiously at his parents. "A-anyway, G wanted to talk to you so I'll take over."

"Why are the two of you listening to him?! You don't even know him."

"G trusts him, so we trust him," the two replied blankly as they switched spot, Giotto making his way into the living room.

"You wanted something, G?" he asked. He glanced over at Tsuna who's side was still being stitched as he sat down next to G. "Natsu said you wanted to talk to me."

"Do you know anything about this, at all?"

"No. I would've told you if I knew something, you know that, G."

"Haa, I figured. Anyway, I want you to ask your parents a few questions and if they hesitate at all you have to call them out on it, alright?"

"Why?"

"Your youngest brother is right across from you with his side being stitched up and you're asking why I'm asking you to ask your parents questions? Did you forget what I said to you before Tsuna ran off?"

"N-no but that doesn't mean we have to ask them questions."

"Giotto, think about what I said and what you just said. You really think you can directly ask them and they're just going to come right out and say it?"

"No but that's dif-"

"How is it different? You think someone at school would be able to stab Tsuna without someone else finding out? Think, Primo. They may beat him to a bloody pulp on more than one occasion but no one in school would go that far as to stab him that deep in the side."

"Well who else could it be?"

"Who else would be able to do it?"

"...M-mom and dad...could. B-but they wouldn't do something like that! They're... They're..."

"They're monsters acting like saints. You know it's true, don't you? Stop living in denial, Giotto!" Giotto stayed silent as his brows creased. He couldn't understand anything of this.

His parents were always so loving and caring to him and Natsu. He admits that they weren't the nicest to Tsuna but they wouldn't go as far as to abuse him, would they? He just couldn't picture it. It was impossible. Those two ditsy/idiotic, over-doting, slightly overbearing parents were not capable of doing something as wrong as stabbing their youngest child. "I'm sorry, G. But I don't believe that my parents, of all people, were the ones to stab Tsuna. I just...They could never."

G sighed in exasperation, having expected this response. He's seen the way those two act towards Giotto and Natsu. As if they were blessed children, as if they were princes or something. They were pampered endlessly. doted on, practically worshiped by their parents. And the attention at school just added on to that. The 'perfect life' in most people's opinions. But he hadn't realized until earlier that his friend was really that blind by his parents' act. "Then if you're so sure they would never do something like that, you shouldn't have a problem asking them questions, right?"

"Fine, I'll ask them your questions. But nothing is going to come out of it."

"We'll see then." The two turned when they heard a sigh to see Reborn leaning up from his bent position, wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead. "You done, Reborn?" G asked, standing up, walking over to where Reborn was kneeling.

**~With Reborn~**

"Yeah. He'll be asleep for a bit and pretty weak when he wakes up. We still might have to take him to the hospital so they can go over a few things, though. Anyway, he'll have to stay home and rest for the next few days while he recovers so he doesn't end up pulling them."

"I'll...call in and tell Hibari. His room is the last door on the right upstairs."

"Yeah, thanks." Reborn gently picked Tsuna up bridal style, slowly making his way upstairs to his room. He'd have to talk to Iemitsu later about what's been going on while he's been gone. A nice, _long_, **chat**. Then he'd get everything straightened out and make sure everything was okay and none of this would ever happen again. Yup, everything should work out fi-

His thoughts stopped once he opened Tsuna's room door, his eyes darkening under the shade of his fedora. The room was completely trashed. Books and writing utensils were strewn about the floor along with ripped and torn clothing. His sheets were in shreds with pillow feathers all over the place and his desk and dresser tipped over.

He slowly closed the door and turned around, walking back downstairs and into the guest room. He stepped into the kitchen where Natsu was still stopping the two from leaving. He walked past Natsu and stood in front of Iemitsu who stared at him in confusion. "Reborn, what are you doing here?"

Nana let out a cry as her husband fell to the round, his hands cradling his left cheek. Reborn straightened up, his hand still clenched in a fist as he stared down at Iemitsu in pure rage.

* * *

This fic is unbeta'd so I's sorry if there are any mistakes in there that I didn't catch. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Bye-bee!


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to the following reviewers of chapter 2! **thor94**, **TsunaMoe, hellzboy, and Crucifix HiME. **

And thank you to all those that have favourited and followed the story!

Um, I'm not sure you would call it a lot because it's only one part of the chapter but there's gonna be some cursing in there, from G and a little bit from Reborn, just to let you know.

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**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Oi, oi!" Natsu cut in, standing in front of Reborn. "What the hell was that for?" he asked. Reborn ignored Natsu, stepping around him and pulling Iemitsu up by the collar of his shirt.

"What happened to Tsuna's room?" he asked, his voice filled with so much hate and venom it caused Iemitsu to cringe back in fear. When he didn't answer, Reborn growled and tugged him up so he was standing. "What happened. To Tsuna's room?" he asked again, his narrowing.

"I don't know what-"

"Don't shit with me, Iemitsu. His things are totally and completely trashed, the entire _room _is completely trashed. Who did it?"

"It wasn't me," Iemitsu replied, hands still cradled against his cheek.

"Then who was it?" Of course, Reborn already knew the answer to this but he was contemplating what to do. He could just hit her. She doesn't know what Iemitsu does for work so he doubts that she's been trained to protect herself at all. And it was against his code to hit a girl...lady...whatever you would call her in this kind of situation, even if she deserves it and more.

"What are you gonna do? It's not like you can do anything once you find out." Reborn rolled his eyes. This moron was beyond the point of an idiot. "You wouldn't hit a lady, would you?"

"What lady? All I see in front of me are two monsters." He internally laughed at the offended expression on Nana's face. Here released Iemitsu's collar, causing him to drop to the ground as he stood, straightening out his suit. "I'm staying here for a while. Tsuna will be staying with me in the guest room until we get his room cleaned. And I'm using your money to do it."

"You can't-"

"I can when your wife was the one to destroy it in the first place. I'm going to get something to eat. Touch him, and you'll regret it." Reborn walked out before anyone could say anything, the front door closing behind him.

* * *

Giotto paced around his room in confusion. He just couldn't seem to wrap his head around all of this. He couldn't understand. "Do you want me to run through it one more time, Gio?" G asked, chewing on a pocky stick.

"No, I know what you're saying. It's not that but it's just- Are you those mine?"

"Hm?" G stared at the box in his hand before looking back up at Giotto, then averting his eyes. "...No."

"G…"

"Tsuna said that if you didn't want them, I could have them. Since they've been there for a while and it didn't seem like you were going to eat them anytime soon so I helped myself. Now back to the problem at hand."

"Stop changing the subject."

"Reborn and Tsuna met a while back when we were younger, though you and the rest of your family don't know about it."

"G, stop eating them!"

"But Reborn had to leave for certain reasons and about a year after he left, those two lost contact, for some reason or another."

"Don't ignore me!"

"But now Reborn is back and is probably going to take Tsuna away from here, meaning, away from your parents where you'll only ever see him at school anymore."

"Would you just- Wait, why would Reborn take him away? Wouldn't that be child protective services?"

"You and Natsu haven't even been yelled at before and they'll just convince them that Tsuna got the wounds and bruises from his bulles, which is partially true. Then they'll make them think Tsuna is a liar and is only looking for attention which will give him an even worse name. Then everyone in the entire town that's an idiot, which is quite a lot of people, will end up hating Tsuna and his bullying and beatings would get worse. Do you want that to happen?"

"Well, no. But that wouldn't actually happen would it? I mean, things wouldn't escalate that far, would they?"

"Everyone in school, minus a select few, already hates Tsuna. And all the adults town are disgusted by him. What makes you think it would go as far as hate? Anyway, I still have some things I want to ask you."

"What's that?"

"Did you know Tsuna was getting bullied?"

"Well, yeah. It's kinda hard not to when you hear about it everyday. And I've seen him walking home with his clothes messed up and a few bruises on his face before."

"Then why didn't you do anything about it?"

"What could I have done about it?"

"You and Natsu are two of the most popular kids in school. You can ask for anything from the teachers and I'm sure you'd get it, it wouldn't be that hard to do the same for the principal."

"You say it like we practically rule the school."

"You do, by popularity. And most of the people that bully Tsuna are your fangirls and fanboys, along with Natsu's. If you asked them, I'm pretty sure they would stop or at least, tone it down."

"Wait, are you saying it's me fault that Tsuna gets bullied!?"

"No. I'm saying it's your fault he's _still _getting bullied when you could help him by doing something about it. Half the people in school practically worship you. If you stood up for Tsuna and acted like and older brother, the one you're supposed to be, maybe his life wouldn't be such a living hell!"

"Well he doesn't ask me for help so how am I supposed to know if he wants it?!"

"Who in their right mind wants to get the shit beaten out of them, more than once, on a daily fucking basis?!" Giotto stared wide eyed at his friends outburst. He didn't… G had a point. A good point, that made lots of sense. But…

"Then why wouldn't he say anything about it?"

"Every shitty person in the whole shitty fucking school knows about it! Why the fucking hell would he need to say anything when every god damned fucking person already fucking knows?!" Ah, here we go. Giotto mentally flinched as he heard the curses spewing from his best friend's mouth. Whenever G got pissed or riled up, his vocabulary took a turn for the worse and the only thing to calm him down would be a good smoke. Of course, he wouldn't allow this because he couldn't watch his best friend kill himself like that.

"G!" No response, his friend began pacing. "G, calm down! Doing what you're doing right now isn't helping anything. Just… take a few deep breaths and chill."

"Chill? Chill?! You expect me to chill when your youngest brother is being physically, mentally, and emotionally abused every time he lets his guard down! And his damned parents are the ones doing it half the time when they should be the ones comforting him and helping him through it! And his moronic, idiotic, asses of brothers, are just sitting there and letting it happen as if it means nothing to them?! You expect me to fucking chill, when all of this crap is going on and I'm such a fucking useless piece of shit and can't do anything at all to help?!"

Giotto raised his hand and watched as his friend's head lurched to the side as it connected with his cheek. "G, stop it! You have no control over the situation so you shouldn't blame yourself for what you couldn't."

"Giotto. The kid is breaking, _he is broken_. And if anything else happens, I'm not sure he could take it. He's like a little brother to me, and it hurts me to see him the way he is. He needs help, and I'm not sure if I can give it to him."

"G…" Giotto didn't know what to say after that. Seeing his friend, his best friend, the ever strong and faithful, dependable, reliable G, so lost and confused like this. It scared him, greatly. Was Tsuna's condition really bad enough to cause G such anxiety and grief?

* * *

Natsu flinched as he heard the two yelling at each other. He came up here to tell Giotto that dinner was ready and that he and G needed to come down but he stopped when heard the two talking about Tsuna. He really couldn't believe all of that was happening to Tsuna. After all, he didn't seem like he was breaking.

But then… He wouldn't really know, would he? He never actually paid any attention to Tsuna. Never listened to him, never asked him if he was okay. Heck, today was the first time he had seen Tsuna smile in **ages**, and it was because of _Hibari_. Of all people! He doesn't even know anything about Tsuna. He didn't even know that their birthday's were separate until today.

He flinched again when G's cursing went up another notch. Now he was just ranting, probably. Well… Ouch! They weren't that bad of brothers...Ok, so maybe they were. But he didn't have to say it like that. He listened as the two quieted down, waiting until he was sure they were done talking before knocking on the door.

There was a moment of silence before a simultaneous 'come in'. He opened the door slightly and peaked his head in. "Mom said to wash up and come down for dinner. And she and dad are probably upset about the yelling too."

"We'll be down in a bit. And tell them we said sorry. We were just… Getting a few stuff out."

"O-okay. I'll tell mom you'll be down in a minute."

"Y-yeah, thanks." Natsu quickly turned around and made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. He hoped that his parents hadn't heard what G had said, only muffled yells. But since he was yelling so loud, that was a low possibility. But then again, the two of them could ignore a war going on right around them if they were stuck in a conversation.

Natsu sat down in his seat quietly, not even bothering to look up as he spoke. "They said they'd be down in a bit. And they're sorry for the yelling."

"It's alright. Though I wonder what they were yelling about. Do you have any idea, Na-kun?"

"N-no. But they said that they were just getting rid of some frustration. Hey mom…" Nana inclined her head, waiting for him to continue. "Do you think that maybe, I should get a part time job soon? So… So I can save up and stuff and maybe help with some of the fees?"

"This is kind of sudden. Why'd you choose now, Natsu? I'm sure you could've thought about starting in middle school."

"Ah, well… I kinda just noticed it but… G eats over a lot, right? And we always have enough for him but then, Tsuna doesn't get any dinner."

"What makes you think that?"

"The pots are completely empty, dad. So there wouldn't be any leftover for Tsuna to eat if he woke up right now. And I've noticed it before too, that he skips a lot of meals."

"What's with the sudden interest in your brother, Natsu? You didn't worry about him before. You didn't really pay much attention to him." Natsu gave a slight flinch at how blunt his father was being. So even he noticed that he was basically ignoring Tsuna in a way that he hadn't even known? Oh wow, his opinion of himself was getting worse by the minute.

"Cause… I don't know. I feel like I'm not being the best older brother, _older twin_ brother, I could be. So I thought I could try harder."

"Na-kun, do you know what's wrong with Tsu-kun? And why we weren't allowed to see him earlier?"

_Why would you care?_ "Not really. He was losing a lot of blood for some reason and Reborn took care of it. And Reborn said you couldn't come in but he never said why. So, about that part-time job. Do you have ideas about what I could do or places that are hiring, mom? Since you're always going to the market and stuff."

"Why don't you ask Tsu-kun?" Both Nana and Iemitsu froze, the former mentally berating herself for letting something like that slip.

"What do you mean? Why would I ask Tsuna?"

"Tsuna already has a part-time job," Iemitsu answered, glancing over at his wife. Nana bit her lip and held her head down. He wasn't supposed to know that, ever. "If you want any suggestions, you should go ask him. I'm sure he knows a few that are still looking."

"Okay then. How long has Tsuna had a part-time job, exactly?"

"Where is your brother? Those two are taking too long, the food is going to get cold." Nana quickly changed the subject. She didn't want Natsu finding out anymore than he knew now. That would complicate things further and ruin everything they had worked for. They couldn't let it fall apart now when they were so close.

"Sorry. We were still talking and kinda forgot we had to come down," Giotto mumbled as he and G stepped in.

"It's fine. Eat up now."

"Itadakimasu!"

* * *

Reborn sat down on the love seat with G sitting next to him, Natsu, Nana, and Giotto sitting on the three seater across from them with Iemitsu sitting in the arm chair. "So, what do you want? I'd rather be sleeping than looking at your disgusting face," Reborn voiced his thoughts bluntly, leaning back into the couch.

Iemitsu, ignoring the comment, sighed through his nose as he sat forward, his hands clasped together in his lap. "Why are you here, Reborn. And what happened to Tsuna, and why wouldn't you let us see him?"

"I'm here because I want to be and you know perfectly well what happened to Tsuna because you, or your ditzy idiot of a wife, were the ones to do it. And that also gives the reason of why you weren't allowed to see him. Don't play dumb because I know, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Giotto said Tsuna fainted from blood loss, what does that have to do with us?"

"Oh for God's sake. He's saying you were the one to hurt Tsuna, which caused him to faint from blood loss. Stop trying to act confused because it's not working. I'm not an oblivious idiot like those two."

"Why would I stab Tsu-kun? He's my p-precious little boy."

"Why'd you stutter? If what you're saying was true then you wouldn't have stuttered because you were sure of your words. You really are terrible fakers. This is probably why Tsuna can't tell a good lie."

Before she could reply, there was a screech followed by a thud coming from the guest room. Everyone paused before standing and quickly making their way to the room. G facepalmed while Reborn only sighed, Natsu and Giotto sweat-dropping. Tsuna's upper body lay on the floor while his lower body still lay on the bed, tangled up in the blankets. "Tsuna… Really, you should know better," G muttered as he helped the boy up, setting Tsuna back down on the bed.

"S-sorry," Tsuna mumbled, his head held down.

G smiled softly, ruffling Tsuna's hair. "It's fine, just be careful alright? You're still pretty weak after losing all that blood."

"Tsuna," Tsuna looked up and instantly smiled, "You ok? Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"N-no, I'm fine."

"Good. Do you want something to eat? I brought some food home." The four at the door that had been completely forgotten stared at the scene in shock, each for different reasons.

Giotto was surprised because he had never seen his friend so calm before. He always had his guard up for some reason and it was a bit unnerving the way he suddenly relaxed around Tsuna the way he did.

Natsu was in shock because he had never seen G act so nice to anyone before, not even Giotto. So it was pretty shocking to see him act this way towards Tsuna. To be so soft spoken, his tone caring and worried. How long exactly have those two known each other? They couldn't have met before G and Giotto did, could they have?

Nana was stunned, to say in the least. When was the last time she had seen Tsuna give a smile like that? She couldn't even remember. She didn't think the boy knew how to smile anymore, not after all that he's been through. She thought it was gone, permanently.

Iemitsu was dumbfounded. He had never, in the entire time of knowing the man, seen Reborn act this calm and relaxed around anyone. And for a second he actually thought that Reborn looked _worried _when they saw Tsuna when they came in. But that couldn't be right. This man was a heartless, cold-blooded killer. There was no way that he could be so...so...so _nice_, to anyone.

"Giotto." Giotto jumped at his name, turning to face Reborn. "Go get the food I brought home. It's on the counter by the fridge."

"Why do I have to-"

"Are you questioning me?" Reborn asked, his eyes cold as he stared down at the teen. Giotto shivered under the stare and quickly shook his head, hurrying out of the room and into the kitchen. "Natsu, you get something for Tsuna to drink."

"Why didn't you ask-" Natsu stopped and turned, walking out the door without another word when Reborn's gaze landed on him.

"Listen and listen close, because I will not repeat myself. If anything more happens to Tsuna whenever I'm not here, the both of you will be put through hell. And don't try to play it off because I can tell the difference between bruises from kids and bruises from adults."

"We didn't do a thing, Reborn. And you have no proof that it could have been us either so don't just go making accusations."

"Oh really? Then let's ask Tsuna, because I know for a fact that he could never lie to me."

"Is that so? Then let's see. Tsunayoshi," Tsuna flinched when his father's gaze landed on him.

"Ignore him. Tsuna, have they ever hurt you before?" Tsuna looked at Reborn before turning to his father who was glaring at him from behind Reborn. "Trust me, Tsuna. If you just tell me the truth, they won't be able to touch you again. I promise. Have they hurt you before?"

Tsuna looked down at his lap before hesitantly nodding, clenching his hands together. He knew that as soon as everyone else was out and he and his parents were alone, he would get the beating of his life. But, he didn't want to lie to Reborn, not after all he had done for him. So, even if he was basically submitting himself to severe injury and possibly death, he would tell the truth.

"How have they hurt you?" Tsuna carefully moved his hand to his side, hovering over his stitches. "Who did it?" His eyes flashed before he took a deep breath, shakily turning to look at Nana, subtly inclining his head. Reborn turned to look at them in smug triumph yet unbridled rage. They were going to regret doing all they've done to him, he would make sure of that.


	4. Chapter 4

I am _so so so_ sorry for the late update! My step-dad was using the laptop most of the time so I only got it twice last week so I typed as much as I could today though I didn't get as much as I hoped in. I'm really sorry. But I still hope you like it, even if it's a bit shorter than I would have liked it to be. (Could someone tell me if I forget to put translations down at the bottom? Thank you.)

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**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

* * *

Tsuna flinched when he yelling increased. When he had answered Reborn's question, Reborn and Iemitsu had gotten into an argument. This happened over an hour ago and there were still at each other's throats. He wanted to say something about it but he knew no one would listen to him anyway, so there really wasn't any point.

"G-san, do you think th-that they'll stop soon?" Tsuna, not at all bothered by the hand running through his hair. "I don't think Natsu-san and Giotto-san can sleep like this. Natsu-san has to get up early tomorrow for basketball practice and Giotto-san needs to leave early for the student council meeting."

"Tsuna, you really should worry more about yourself sometimes. You need rest to recover, you know."

"B-but… They're much more important than me. Nana-san and Iemitsu-san said so."

"And how many time have I told you not to listen to them? Anyway, I'll see if I can go calm them down. You get some rest, alright? I don't want you pushing yourself."

"A-are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Now lay down and go to sleep."

"Ok. G-goodnight, G-san."

"Night, Tsuna." G ruffled Tsuna's hair before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Natsu let out a small sigh as he sat down, glancing at Tsuna's empty seat, then sighed again. "Natsu," Natsu looked up at his name, "Are you ok? You've been sighing since we met up after practice.

"I'm fine, Takeshi. It's just, a lot of stuff happened yesterday and I'm a little worn out from it."

"So… Where's your brother? Doesn't he normally come in at this time?"

"...I think so, yeah. But he won't be coming today. He's...sick."

"Oh. You don't seem all that worried. Is this normal for him, or something?"

"Not sure. I never really noticed if he got sick or not before. But I don't think it's normal."

"Oh… Then, shouldn't you be more worried if it's not normal. I mean, what if it's something serious? And he didn't look all that well yesterday either."

"Why should he worry about Dame-Tsuna? He probably tripped over himself and got a concussion or something. Besides, Natsu doesn't have time to worry about such a pathetic loser."

"I'm still wondering how they're even related. Natsu and Giotto are amazing at almost anything while Dame-Tsuna is _amazingly terrible_ at everything." Someone snorted at the comment.

"I bet he doesn't even know what 1+1 is." Those present in the classroom -minus Natsu and Yamamoto- burst into laughter. A few more students dropping snide comments about Tsuna's grades and athleticism.

"Why can't you all just _shut up_?" Everyone paused and turned to Natsu. "You're giving me a headache," he mumbled, once he realized what he did.

"_Aa_… Ahaha! That makes more sense. For a sec, I actually thought Natsu was going to stand up for Dame-Tsuna."

"Like that would ever happen." Natsu internally cringed at that comment. '_Like that would ever happen_'. Just because he hasn't stood up for Tsuna before doesn't mean it would _never _happen… _Tabun_. He let out a frustrated sigh as his head hit the desk. Ow…

* * *

G and Giotto glared at each other. Everyone in the class stared worriedly at the two, for it was unusual for them to be fighting like this. "G, Giotto, what's wrong with you two? Your attitudes are disturbing the class," the sensei voiced in annoyance. She didn't care if they were her best students, class couldn't continue like this.

"Giotto's being an idiot."

"G's being a douche."

"You're the one that wouldn't even listen." G's eyes narrowed further as he turned to face Giotto completely.

"Why should I listen when your reasoning is totally messed up?" Giotto followed his movements. leaning forward slightly.

"Or you're just jealous because you know I'm totally better at you than it!"

"Better at what? Huh?! Better at what, G?!"

"You know for a fact that I'm a better brother to Tsuna than you'd ever be!"

"How would that be possible when you're not even blood related!?"

"You don't have to be blood related to be a family, and you know that! And you didn't even try to object to me being better! Maybe if you stopped acting like an oblivious idiot all the damn time, you'd realize what was being done to him."

"What's being done to him?"

"I thought I already told you."

"If it's about the bullying, I already know."

"That's not what I- Then why aren't you doing anything about it?!"

"What _can_ I do?"

"...I thought we already talked about this, _aho_."

"Both of you to the principal's office! You will be attending detention for two hours for the disruption of this class. Now go!" The two grumbled as they packed their things, quickly walking out the door while still glaring at each other.

"This is all your fault," Giotto mumbled.

"My fault? My fault?!"

"Yeah it's your fault!"

"_How the hell is any of this my fault_?!"

"Maybe _if you weren't being such an ass_ then none of this would've happened!"

"BOYS!" the sensei yelled.

* * *

Iemitsu sighed quietly to himself, Reborn glaring at him from across the table. This had been going on since last night and nothing seemed to lighten up the tension. He

glanced at Tsuna, who was sitting next to Reborn and across from Nana who was sitting next to him. "Tsunayoshi," Tsuna ducked his head, playing with his food, "are you feeling any better now?"

"Y-yes, Iemitsu-san. The-The rest h-helped."

"That's good. Then why don't you-"

"He's not getting up until he finishes at least half his food. He's still weak, if you're too blind to notice."

"The kid says he's fine, so that means he's fine."

"Or he's too damned scared of getting the shit beaten out of him so he's lying about it."

"Now listen here!" Tsuna stood before either could continue, picking up his plate.

"I-I'll just go finish eating i-in the room. E-excuse me." He gave a small bow before walking out of the kitchen/dining room, the door to the guest room closing behind him.

Reborn and Iemitsu glared at each other while Nana only continued eating, acting as if none of that had just happened. She finished her food shortly after and stood, placing her plate in the sink. "I'm going to have a small talk with Tsunayoshi while you two sort this out. Really, you're acting like animals."

Reborn snorted with a raised eyebrow. He looked Nana right in the eye and smirked as he spoke, "And you're any better? _Akuma_." Nana twitched at the insult but did nothing to counter, simply walking out without a single glance in Reborn's direction.

* * *

Hibari glanced out the Reception Room window with a near inaudible sigh. He was expecting more lunch today but since the usagi-herbivore wasn't coming…

_Annoyance… Anger… Disbelief… Disgust…_

The phone call popped back into his mind along with his thoughts and feelings on it. Was that woman really his mother? The very thought set him on edge and he wanted to slaughter someone for it. Mostly his idiot brothers. He's seen the way the two act around him. As if he wasn't there, like he didn't exist. It was a pathetic sight, really.

Those two being the saint children, the ground they walk on being worshiped by everyone they know. Their parents treating them like royalty, giving them everything they want. The entire school population praising them for every little thing they did, the females dropping at their feet. Disgusting how none of them held any regards for themselves, no morals or values. Only befriending them for popularity.

He turned his head slightly when there was a knock at the door. "Enter," he murmured. He turned fully around as the person walked in, staring bordely. His eyes narrowed when the red-headed herbivore walked in. "What it is." Though it sounded more like a demand than a question, G shrugged.

He pulled something out of his bag and set it down on Hibari's desk. "Tsuna wanted me to give this to you. Says he's worried about your eating habits or something." Hibari stared down at the purple silk wrapped bento. He was just thinking about it too, how wonderful. "I'll tell him you said thank you, even though you didn't. You better appreciate the gift, Hibari." G walked out without another word, the door closing softly behind him.

Hibari's gaze once again landed on the bento and he opened it without pause, internally smiling at the hamburger steak set in front of him.

_How did he know?_

* * *

Reborn and Iemitsu had started arguing as soon as Nana walked out which soon escalated to trading insults which then evolved into a brawl which had the both of them rolling on the floor.

Nana and Tsuna were still in the guest room, the former completely ignoring the noise outside as she locked the door, the latter shuffling nervously, scooting back on the bed. Nana smiled as she sat down on the edge of the bed, near Tsuna's feet.

Tsuna twitched but held back from pulling his feet up. He didn't want to anger her anymore than he knew she was. "W-was there s-something you needed Nana-san? I-I'm not done ea-eating yet."

"Hm~. Not really. I just wanted to… talk, Tsu-kun." Tsuna stared at his mother for a moment before giving her a hesitant nod, once again poking at his food. He couldn't eat now, not when she was watching his every move like a hawk. "Then, would you mind answering my questions, Tsu-kun?" Tsuna shook his head.

"Do you still love Mama, Tsu-kun?" Tsuna froze for a moment as he stared at Nana in shock.

"W-what?"

"Do you still love me, Tsu-kun. Even after all I've done to you?"

"O-of course, Nana-san."

"You don't hate me?"

"N-no. I-I could never hate you."

"Why don't you hate me, Tsu-kun?"

"B-because Nana-san is the re-reason I'm here."

"Good answer, Tsu-kun. Be prepared for you punishment later, ok? You should know better than to disobey us."

"H...Hai, Nana-san." Nana smiled as she gave a small pat to Tsuna's head before walking over to and unlocking the door.

"You know...I don't like doing this to you, Tsu-kun. But you have to be disciplined, and it's for your own good. Don't tell Reborn-san about it, alright?" Tsuna nodded. "Sleep well, Tsu-kun." She gave one last smile before she stepped out, the door closing behind her. Tsuna let out a shaky breath, feeling the sting of tears behind his eyes. No, he couldn't cry. He knew this would happen if he told the truth, and he was prepared for it. He's been prepared for it since last night, so he couldn't let it get to him. Now, if only his heart could take the pressure of waiting.

* * *

Tsuna sighed softly when Reborn stepped in, his face all mussed up from his scuffle with Iemitsu. "First aid kit is in the bottom draw to the left," he said quietly when Reborn glanced at him. Reborn nodded and walked over to the draw, pulling out the first aid kit and sitting down right next to Tsuna on the bed.

"...How's your side?"

"Doesn't hurt as much. Though that may be because I have a high pain tolerance…"

"_Baka_. You really should worry more about yourself, Tsuna."

Tsuna shrugged in response, bringing his knees up to his chest, ignoring the twinge in his side he got in return. "I'm not...used to worrying about myself, I guess?"

"Well you should start. I don't want something like this to happen to you again." Tsuna took the disinfectant covered cotton ball from Reborn, without protest, and carefully dabbed it against the bleeding bruise on his lip.

"It's fine, it doesn't really matter anyway. You'll need ice for your cheek."

"Tsuna…"

"Hm?"

"Are you happy here? Tell me honestly, disregarding the welfare of others."

"Honestly?... N-no, I'm not. I don't...I don't want to live like this. But it's n-not like I have a choice so I k-kinda just, p-put up with it."

"That's all I needed to hear. Sleep, Tsuna. I can tell you still need it." Reborn stood after putting everything back and put the first aid kit back in the drawer. "I'll be in the living room if you need anything, alright?" Tsuna nodded, chewing on his bottom lip.

Reborn was halfway out the door before Tsuna stopped him. "Reborn wait!" Reborn turned back to look at him.

"What is it?"

"I...Ah… N-nevermind, sorry. I guess I'm just really tired. Sorry."

Reborn smiled softly. "Get some rest then."

"O-ok." The door shut softly behind him as he walked out. Tsuna stared at the door for a moment before sighing, resting his head on his knees.

_What was wrong with him?_

* * *

Natsu and Giotto stepped into the house only to turn around and walk right back out when they saw their dad on the ground with Reborn's foot on his face, an evil grin stretched across his cheeks. He turned to them and the grin was gone in an instant, replaced by an indifferent look. "Oh, you two are home. Tsuna wants to know what you want for dinner cause your _shiri _of a father is forcing him to make it, even if he needs his rest."

"What are you talking about, Reborn? He said he was fine."

"And I've told you before that he's lying because he doesn't want to anger you. Idiot. Anyway. You two are going to help Tsuna cook since he's making food for everyone and he's still a little weak, even if he's denying it. Got that?"

"Yeah but… Gio's not allowed anywhere near the food before it's made because he somehow always manages to burn it, even if there's no flame involved."

"Then he can learn. Now get going, Tsuna's waiting." They nodded as they took off their shoes, dropping their things by the door and stepping into the kitchen. Tsuna looked up when he heard someone come in to see his brothers standing awkwardly by the entrance to the kitchen, smiling hesitantly at him. He tilted his head to the side in question, waiting for them to speak. When they said nothing, he set down the cookbook with a small sigh. "I-is there something you n-need, Natsu-san, Giotto-san?" he asked.

Natsu blushed slightly and looked away while Giotto let out a small cough. "Ah, no. W-we were...um…"

"Reborn! Yeah, Reborn. He told us to come help you out with dinner," Giotto finished for Natsu since he was clearly having trouble with his words.

"B-but I thought Nana-san said y-you weren't allowed in t-to cook, Giotto-san."

"He said I could learn. So, what are you making?"

"I-I was actually waiting f-for you to come home. S-so I could ask what you wanted."

"_Aa_, then… How about a hot pot? It'd work since there's a lot of people here, right?" Natsu started.

"_Aa_, hai." Tsuna answered quietly.

"Then, let's get started, shall we?" Giotto asked, rolling up his sleeves.

* * *

Again, I am soooo sorry for the late update and I'll see if I can get the laptop more often this week so I have more time to type. Gomenasai~! Thanks to all those that have favorited and followed my story and the following reviewers! TsunaMoe, Crucifix HiME, MetalGodlv66, and guest reviewer-Gosh

I kinda had to rush at the end cause me step-dad wanted the laptop and I wasn't done yet. But! I'll add more than I planned next chapter to make up for it, hopefully.

_**Aho**_: Fool/Dumbass -depends on tone of voice

_**Akuma: **_Devil/Demon -there are a lot of different words for this but this is a reference to another anime so I thought I'd put it in

_**Baka**_: Idiot/Fool -a lot of insults translate to fool, also depends on tone of voice

_**Shiri: **_Ass -which is literally what his dad is

_**Aa**_: Ah/Oh -depends on situation/response to a statement


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Ah! G-Giotto-san. You'll c-cut your fingers if you do it that way."

"Then how am I _supposed _to do it?" Tsuna flinched at the cold tone in his voice and took a small step back.

Giotto cringed when Natsu elbowed him in the gut with a strained smile. "Be nice, Gio. He's worried about you hurting yourself. You should be thankful he said anything instead of letting you cut your fingers off. Anyway, Tsuna. What are we supposed to do next?"

"...Y-you don't have to do this, i-if you don't want to, you kn-know. I-I don't… I'm used to d-doing it, on m-my own. I-I can tell you aren't enj-joying this."

"Tsuna… We're helping whether you want us to or not. Right, Gio?"

"I really don't think-"

"Right. Gio."

"...Yeah, we'll keep helping. But Tsunayoshi, when did you learn how to cook?"

"I-I think," Tsuna started as he continued chopping the meat, "it was wh-when I was eight, or nine?"

"Was mom the one to teach you to cook? Or was it someone else, cause this isn't normally how she'd make a hot pot." Natsu stated as he cut up a few carrots.

"N-no. I-I taught myself. N-Nana-san said it was better to l-learn myself th-that way I'd have more experience."

"It must've taken a lot then, to get this good. Cause of your clumsiness and all."

"It did. I-I always burned myself in the beg-ginning, or accidentally cut my fingers. B-but I got better pretty fast. Ah, Natsu-san, could hand you hand me the mushrooms?"

"M-mushrooms? We don't like mushrooms though, Tsuna."

"I-I know that's why I-I chop them up instead of l-leaving them whole. The-they change the flavor of the soup so i-it's noticeable if they aren't in there. B-but you can't taste it on their own."

"How did you come up with that, Tsunayoshi?" Giotto asked, twitching slightly as he failed again at forming the dumpling into a circle (how did he mess that up?). Tsuna gave a small smile as he moved over to help Giotto, showing him the easier way to do it.

"I w-wanted to give the soup the s-same flavor so I-I tried a lot of different things. B-but it never ended up the same so I thought th-that mincing them up would be a good idea. A-and they'd be able to b-boil better and you wouldn't be b-bothered by it. D-do you not want me to a-add them?"

"...You worked really hard to find a way to please us. You didn't have to go through that much trouble you know."

"I-I know but i-it wouldn't seem fair."

Natsu smiled softly and ruffled Tsuna's hair with his clean hand. "Thanks, Tsuna. And it's fine if you add them in."

"O-ok. U-um… Are either of you, in-inviting friends over?" Natsu and Giotto stared at Tsuna for a moment before both nodded.

"Takeshi, Osamu, and Mochida are coming over later so we might have to make extra for them. You would mind, would you, Tsuna?" Natsu asked as he watched Tsuna fill the pot with some water. He still wondered how Tsuna got so good at cooking. Yes, years of practice can make you better, but this was still Tsuna we were talking about. He was a completely clumsy, accident prone, danger prone, adorable, fuzzy little-

Ok, ok. Calm down, no need to go that far. But still, Tsuna couldn't walk ten steps without tripping over nothing. So how was it possible for him to be so coordinated while holding a _knife_?

"I think G is coming over later, and Asari should be too, maybe. He's supposed to get back from training camp today."

"A-Asari-san? I-I haven't seen him, i-in a while."

"Yeah, about a month and a half now. Anyway, G said he had something to tell us, all of us, when he got here and he wanted me to let you know. Said something about meeting someone tomorrow too."

"A-alright. A-ah, you don't have to h-help anymore if you d-don't want to. I can t-tell that you're tired."

"Are you sure? There's still a lot to do to make a hot pot."

"I-I'm sure, it's f-fine."

"If you say so. I'll be doing homework then, call if you need help or anything." 'Which probably won't happen,' Natsu thought to himself as he stepped out of the kitchen/dining room.

"I'm gonna go take a shower then get some sleep before dinner, ok?" Tsuna nodded as he got out a few more ingredients from the fridge.

"And, Tsunayoshi?" Tsuna looked up at Giotto, waiting for him to continue. "I was wondering...if you'd like to come to the student council room with me tomorrow? It's mandatory for everyone to be in a club but I guess that's...hard?.. For you? So, you could join the student council, if you want."

"A-are you sure? I-I mean, I can't really do a-anything right, a-and I'm not really g-good with numbers or p-paperwork."

"I-I know, so I thought you could maybe… Make meals for us? Or bring us coffee?"

"A-an errand boy?" Tsuna asked in a slight deadpan tone.

"B-basically. Y-you don't have to if you don't want to! It was just a suggestion, since all the other places are filled in."

"I-I don't mind. Sh-should I bring l-lunches for everyone tom-morrow?"

"Would you, please?" Giotto asked, his tone pleading as he gave an exasperated look.

Tsuna smiled softly up at his brother as he nodded. "Sure. How m-many are there?"

"There are- wait, didn't Reborn say you weren't allowed to go to school for a few days, for rest?"

"Ah, right. Th-then, I could m-make them and you c-could take then t-to school tomorrow. W-would that be alr-right?"

"Y-yeah, that'd be fine. Thanks, Tsunayoshi, you're the best." Tsuna nodded again and Giotto walked out quickly, a shaky smile on his face that immediately disappeared as soon as he was out of view. Giotto hurried up to his room and shut the door quietly behind him, breathing a sigh of relief.

He picked his phone up off of his bedside table and dialed G's number. It rang three times before an irate voice picked up on the other end. "What? I'm coming over right now."

"No, that's not it. I… I asked him, and he said yes."

"Then why do you sound like you regret doing it? Gio- Don't tell me. You feel like he'll only make things harder, don't you?"

"K-kinda? I mean, what if he trips and spills everything and then, we ask him to clean it up and make it worse?"

"He's only clumsy when he's nervous. If you _payed attention_, you'd know that."

"Are we really going to play the blame game again, G? Really?"

"I'm just saying."

"Whatever, I'm gonna go take a shower. I should be done by the time you get here. I think."

"If not I'm taking the rest of your pocky."

"Traitor," Giotto muttered under his breath as he hung up, throwing his phone on his bed before picking out some clothes and stepping into the bathroom across the hall.

* * *

Tsuna let out a small sigh as he turned on the small stove set in the middle of the table with the pot of water on top. He still had a few things to finish but it's better to heat up the water now instead of waiting and having things take longer. He paused when there was a knock at the door. He wiped his hands off on his apron before quickly making his way to the hall. "Who is it?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Ah, Tsuna-kun! It's been so long since I've seen you, you haven't grown at all. Ahaha." Asari laughed cheerfully while Tsuna's cheeks turned a dusted red at the comment.

"I-it's good to see you t-too, Asari-san." Tsuna stepped out of the way to let him in. "Giotto-san i-is in the bath right n-now so you c-can wait in the li-living room for him. I-I'll get you some t-tea."

"No need, it's fine. You're cooking right? I wouldn't want to add more to that."

"A-are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. It's fine." Asari chuckled as he ruffled Tsuna hair before walking into the living room while Tsuna walked back into the kitchen to continue cooking.

* * *

Tsuna shuffled awkwardly as he stood in the kitchen doorway. Reborn and G were waiting for him to come in and sit down to eat while his father was glaring at him, daring him to do it. He really didn't want to go in there because he knew he'd end up hurt in the end, but he still wanted to eat since he's only had lunch all day and he didn't even get to finish it. So he was basically starving right now.

"Tsuna, come sit down and eat."

"There aren't any seats left so how is he supposed to do that?" Iemitsu asked.

"Do you really want to know or would you rather I showed you?" Reborn challenged, fingering his chopsticks with an evil glint in his eyes, practically leaking killer intent fully aimed towards Iemitsu.

"And what exactly do you plan to do with those chopsticks? It's not like they'll hurt at all."

"You wanna bet?"

"I-I'll eat in the room, si-since my presence is d-disturbing you so much." Tsuna walked in and grabbed his plate that he had filled earlier, having partially expected this. "E-excuse me." He gave a small bow before walking out, closing and locking the room door.

He let out a small sigh before sitting on the bed, folding his legs as he ate. He knew this was going to happen. He's been locked in here all day, either from being too scared to go out since he really didn't want to face his punishment, coupled with Reborn continuously telling him that sleeping would help him heal faster.

Of course, the man's actions were over exaggerated and he had actually gone as far as to completely wrap and tangle Tsuna in the blanket so he wouldn't be able to get up unless he called. Which only happened twice, and even then, he wasn't untangled. Tsuna sighed. Really, Reborn was too extreme sometimes. Well, all times. If he remembered correctly from when they were smaller.

He jumped slightly when they was a knock on the door. "Tsuna, open up." He stared at the door for a moment, wondering why G was there when he was supposed to be e- Oh. Duh. He stood, setting his plate on the bedside table and unlocked the door, letting both G and Reborn in. "We're eating with you. Mainly because Reborn was about to kill Iemitsu with his chopsticks but that's besides the point."

Reborn closed and locked the door before sitting down on Tsuna's right with G on Tsuna's left, all three of them with plates in hand. "Anyway, I wanted to ask. Where are the mushrooms?" Tsuna mentally sighed as he stuffed a slice of meat in his mouth.

* * *

Natsu and Giotto stared at their dad in disbelief. He just outright refused to let Tsuna sit down at the table. What? "Dad… Why don't you want Tsuna at the table?" Natsu asked, chewing on a piece of chicken.

"There weren't any seats left, it's not my fault."

"We have extras that we could use but you didn't say anything about it. And you obviously weren't planning on it by the tone you used when saying there weren't any open seats."

"What does it matter? It's not like the kid wanted to sit here anyway."

"How the hell would you know?" Natsu muttered, stuffing another piece of chicken in his mouth as he chewed angrily. "You don't even care about him."

"Natsu, what're you mumbling about?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," he snapped.

"Natsu, mind your manners. You will not use that tone with me."

"What tone? You mean, the same tone you use with Tsuna almost all the time? That tone?"

"Natsu, watch yourself. You have no right to speak to me like that!"

"Cause you have the right to treat Tsuna the way you do?!"

"I have every right to treat him the way I do because he is my son and I can do whatever the hell I want to him!"

"_Detarame! _Ever heard of child abuse? Go ahead and keep it up then, get your ass locked up in jail for the rest of your shitty life! See if I care!"

"Natsuyama!" Natsu stared furiously at his father for a moment before standing up and storming out of the kitchen and up to his room, slamming and locking the door behind him. Iemitsu sighed and rest his head in his hand before standing up also and walking upstairs.

* * *

Natsu sighed as he leaned against his door, a hand running through his hair. What the hell did he just do? He flopped down face first onto his bed and let out a muffled groan. Why did he do that? Ok, yeah, he was frustrated. That was the first thing. He was frustrated at his dad because he just noticed how bad he's been treating Tsuna all this time. That was another. And then… He was kinda mad and disappointed at himself from today. He couldn't defend Tsuna, even though he was his twin.

He sighed when his phone started ringing and rolled over, grabbing it off his bedside table. "_Moshi moshi_?"

"_Ah, Natsu? It's me, Takeshi. Mochida and Osamu called and said they wouldn't be able to come over and that you wouldn't answer your phone so they wanted me to tell you. Anyway, is it still alright if I come over later? I already had dinner though_."

"I'm not sure dad would-"

"Natsu?" Natsu glanced at the door before sighing again.

"Sorry, Takeshi. I'll call you back later and let you know if you can sill come over."

"_Ok, haha. I'll talk to you later then. Love you._"

Natsu blushed and let out a small cough. "L-love you too." Natsu hung up and set his phone back down on the table. "What, dad? I thought you were mad at me."

"Natsu, we need to talk."

* * *

Translations:

_**Detarame**__: _Bullshit

_**Moshi moshi**__: _Response when answering the phone.

* * *

Thank you to those that continued onto the next chapter. I hope you really liked it and yeah, Natsu and Iemitsu are going got have a 'serious' talk in the next one. I'm not sure if I want to go through with Tsuna's punishment of if I want Reborn to find out and stop it before it happens. You can comment on which one you want...or not. But yeah. Hope you liked it.

A small, tiny little bit of… fluff? (Would you call that fluff?) with Yamamoto and Natsu. I'm not sure how much of them I want to put in but I'll decide on that later. Um, that's about it. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Natsu, we need to talk."

"Obviously not when all you're going to do is scream at me for making accusations that are totally and completely true. I'm not stupid. I've noticed a bunch of things, a whole lot of them, but I always thought that if Tsuna didn't say anything then he was fine with it. That he was fine with being starved, degraded, bullied, insulted. But now I know that, it was because he didn't know how to ask for help. And it's all your fault. You and mom. You did that to him."

"Natsu, please just hear me out." Iemitsu pleaded as he sat down on the bed next to Natsu.

Natsu stared at his father before asking, "Why?"

"I'm just going to tell you straight up, no sugar coating it. Tsuna was an accident, he wasn't planned and wasn't meant to be born."

"So, you're basically admitting that you never wanted Tsuna and that you think he's a mistake?"

"Exactly."

"What… The actual fuck." Natsu stared at his father in slight disgust. You don't just say that to the twin of the person you're talking about.

"Just listen. We had everything planned out. The fees and expenses, all the planning. We even thought about moving to a bigger house, maybe out in the country where you and Giotto would have more space to run around and play. But then he came along and ruined everything. Everything was doubled because of his arrival and all our plans went down the drain."

"So? That shouldn't have mattered. You still should've been happy that you were having another kid!"

"How, when all our plans were completely thrown out the window? If it wasn't for him, we would've had a much happier life than the one we're living now. Things would be so much better if he never came along."

"Don't say that! If you didn't want him you should've just given him up for adoption in the first place instead of keeping him and beating down on him like you do now. I'm sure he would've been better off there instead of here with you assholes as parents."

"He probably wouldn't even have made it in that orphanage anyway. Maybe I should've left him there. But Nana wouldn't have it so we ended up keeping him, even though I didn't want a thing to do with him."

"You're a sick fuck, you know that? Get out of my room."

"Now Natsu, I am still your father and you will treat me with respect."

"I'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated, and you definitely don't deserve any respect after what you just said. Now go away. I really don't want to speak to you anymore."

"You'll understand soon enough, Natsu. And then you'll agree wholeheartedly with my opinion. You'll see." Iemitsu stood, a knowing smile on his face as he walked to the door. "Don't worry, you'll understand. Oh and, it's fine if your friend comes over."

Natsu stared at the door with wide eyes for a moment before facepalming. Something was really wrong with his family and he felt like an imbecile for only noticing it now. And what the hell? His father expected him to agree with this thoughts that Tsuna was a mistake and deserves to be punished? What was wrong with these people, seriously? Wait… "You heard our conversation?!"

"Every last word!"

Natsu blushed furiously when he heard his father's laugh from downstairs. "Da-DAD!" Iemitsu only laughed louder at the exclamation.

Natsu gasped when he realized what he did. He sighed as his head fell against his pillow, reaching over to grab his phone. He...might as well tell Takeshi that he can come over.

* * *

Tsuna sat awkwardly between G and Reborn who were both staring at him intently, for some reason. "I-is there something wrong, you two?" he asked, hoping to get them to stop. The two didn't answer but continued to stare at him in concentration.

"Hey Reborn, do you think it'd work?" What would work?

"Hm… Maybe. He has the looks for it." What did Reborn mean by that? What were they planning?

"Alright. Let's get started then. We don't wanna be late." Tsuna stared at the two of them before shakily standing up and making his way to the room door. Right before he could unlock it, Reborn grabbed his right hand while G grabbed his left and they both pulled him back to the bed, forcing him to sit back down.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head up to look at them.

G side glanced at Reborn at the look before sighing, a small blush on his face. "Control yourself man, you'll have plenty of time to do that later. For now, let's just get him dress and get going. The brat will throw a fit if we're late and he has to wait." Reborn glared at G but walked over to the closet anyway and pulled out some clothes, throwing them on the bed next to Tsuna.

"Put those on and we'll get going."

"A-ano," Tsuna mumbled as he stood, taking off his shirt. "Where are we going, exactly?" he asked, changing into the outfit given. A long, plain white shirt with short sleeves and a pair of black skinny jeans with orange and white converse, '27' printed in black on the sides.

Reborn looked at him unsure for a moment and glanced over at G before shaking his head. "It's a surprise. And you can't tell anyone until after school, next Wednesday."

"W-why Wednesday?" Tsuna asked as he shifted his shirt a little, trying to make it less uncomfortable around his stitches.

"You'll know why once we get there."

"How long is it going to take? I-I need to get to bed soon."

"You've slept a lot today. I'm sure you're rested enough."

"You're the one that's been telling me to sleep, all day."

"Because you needed it then. But now you're all rested and have at least enough energy to not pass out randomly."

"I-I haven't done that at all." Tsuna blushed when both Reborn and G chuckled, quickly putting on the light orange jacket he was given, '27' written in roman numerals on the back in white. The two looked him over for a minute before nodding to themselves.

"Alright, let's go. He'll throw a fit if we aren't there when he arrives."

"Y-you haven't told me wh-where we're going yet."

"It's a surprise. Just wait until we get there, alright?" Tsuna didn't get to respond as G quickly ushered him out of the room, Reborn following closely behind them. "I'll tell your brothers about it later but you can't mention anything about it."

"Why not? They'll already know." Tsuna and G climbed into the back seat of the car while Reborn sat in the driver seat, closing his door. The two buckled in while Reborn started the car, the doors locking automatically. "Why would it matter?"

"Cause Giotto is an idiot and will start asking questions about why he wasn't the first to know so I want to make it seem like a coincidence instead."

"G-san, that's not a very nice thing to do to Giotto-san, you know."

G shrugged, "He'll live."

* * *

"Ano, why are we at the airport?" Tsuna asked, looking around. He hadn't been to an airport before since there was no need to. He was kind of excited to see one that's not on TV.

"We're picking someone up, like I said earlier." G answered, pulling out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. Tsuna frowned when he saw this and stretched out his hand, looking up at G expectantly. G stared down at Tsuna before sighing and handing him the box, watching in dismay as he crushed it and threw it away.

Tsuna walked back over to G with a tight lipped smile, motioning for him to put away his lighter. G put the lighter back in his back pocket with another sigh and took the piece of gum Reborn gave him instead. "You know that's not good for you," Tsuna was still giving him that smile as he spoke, hands clasped behind his back as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Yeah, I know. I'll… try to cut back a little more. For you," G added, a small blush on his face. The blush receded quickly after when he saw Reborn glaring at him from the corner of his eye.

"Thank you, G-san." Tsuna's smile turned sincere as he spoke again, a flash of relief going through his eyes. G's face tinted a soft pink as he turned his head, giving a small cough as he nodded. Really, this kid could do so much damage without even realizing it. He's going to get himself hurt one of these days because of it… Or maybe he'll somehow get every man on earth to bend to his will and do his bidding. Wait… _Man_? No no, he did not just think that. No way did he just think that. Impossible.

"Oi! Pinky!" G forgot all about his thoughts at the loud call, most heads turning to him at the insult. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. "What the hell, I've been looking all over you. You've been standing here the entire time instead of coming to find me?" G mentally counted up to ten, then counted back down to one when that did absolutely nothing to relieve his anger. His left eyebrow twitched as he stepped towards the reason for his anger and sighed.

"Well it's nice to see you too, _Hayato_." He tried to be polite, he really did. But the way the brat was looking at him just made it such a challenge so he just gave up halfway, saying the boys name with a suppressed growl.

"Did I say you could call me by my first name?"

"We have the same last name anyway so I really don't think it matters. And I'm your older cousin, I can call you whatever the hell I want."

Tsuna shifted closer to Reborn as the two started a small argument, gently rubbing a hand over his side. "They hurting again?" Reborn asked when he caught the motion. Tsuna shook his head quietly as he let his hand drop to his side.

"Th-they're just kinda itchy. It's bugging me a little, that's all." Tsuna awkwardly looked away when Reborn sighed, the two seeming to have been forgotten.

"Hey, Tsuna." Tsuna looked back up at Reborn as he waited for him to continue. He was confused at the look Reborn was giving him. Something between a mix of worry and...possessiveness? No, that couldn't be right. He must've been imagining things. "Why was your side bleeding so bad when I found you?" Reborn asked, hands shoved into his pockets as he waited for the boy to answer.

Tsuna stared at Reborn for a moment before turning his head. He didn't really want to tell him. Reborn already knew he was being abused, and he's been doing a lot about that. A lot meaning continuously beating the shit out of his dad. If he told him he was being bullied… He really didn't want to think about it. "W-well… I'm really clumsy a-and all and I b-bumped my side and it disturbed the wound. I-it's my own fault, really."

"Uh-huh… And what exactly did you bump into?"

"A lot of things," he answered a little too quickly. He winced at the look Reborn was giving him. He really didn't like lying to Reborn, and he knew the man could tell that he was. Though, he hoped he wouldn't say anything about it or try to ask any further.

"Tsuna," he mentally cringed at the tone of voice, "if you're being bu-"

"Sorry about that!" Tsuna internally worshiped G for interrupting at that moment, turning as the two walked over to them.

"Don't think we're done," Reborn whispered as he stepped past him.

"Anyway. This is Gokudera Hayato, my younger cousin. This is Sawada Tsunayoshi, and you already know Reborn."

"Nice to see you again, Reborn-san."

"Yeah, you two."

G stared at Gokudera expectantly, who stared back blankly. "Well?"

"Well what?" Gokudera asked.

G motioned over to Tsuna with a subtle wave. Gokudera still continued to stare blankly at him and G sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He should've seen this coming. Of course the brat would be a little asshole. So, to fix it, he does what he always does. He whacked Gokudera in the back, pushed him towards Tsuna with a stern look, and motioned to him again, mouthing the words 'be nice'.

Gokudera sighed as he walked up to Tsuna, his hands in his pocket as he looked away. "I'm, Gokudera Hayato, nice to meet you." He mumbled quietly, staring at Tsuna from the corner of his eye. The kid looked like a flat chick in boys' clothing. He couldn't really tell if the kid was a boy or girl, or if he -her?- was even his age or not. The kid was so short it was kinda hilarious. And what was up with his hair? Is he -seriously, is it really a girl- using some kind of hair gel or something to get it to stay up like that?

"I-I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, b-but you c-can call me Tsuna. I-if you want to. It's nice to meet you t-too, Gokudera-san." Tsuna smiled shyly up at him and his eyes widened. He turned to openly stare at the kid in shock. This is a joke, right? Cause there is no way this kid could be a boy with his looks and that high pitched voice. And that smile, he blushed slightly since Tsuna was still smiling up at him, was like a call from the Gods or something.

"Go-Gokudera-san?" Tsuna asked, his smile falling into a worried pout as he looked up at Gokudera. "A-are you ok?" Tsuna took a step closer as he noticed the red on Gokudera's face.

"A-are you not feeling well? Y-you're face is red. Do you have a fever?" Tsuna, completely forgetting where he was, who he was asking, and not yet registering what his actions would do, let his worry take over as he stepped even closer to Gokudera and pressed the back of his hand against his forehead. Gokudera's blush darkened as he spluttered, taking a step back.

Tsuna gasped and blushed when he realized what he did, also taking a step back as he stuttered out apologies one after another. G chuckled at the scene while Reborn glared darkly at Gokudera who winced in fear once he noticed, the blush disappearing as his skin paled. "Alright, you two. Let's go. Tsuna still needs his rest and you need to get over the time difference." Reborn steered Tsuna back to the car before he could say anything and hurried him into the passenger's seat.

"Tenth…" Gokudera mumbled as his eyes followed Tsuna, a certain shine to his expression. G smirked darkly at the look in his cousin's eyes as he led him over to the car, both of them getting into the back seat. He and Reborn looked at each other through the rear view mirror and his smirk widened at the look the he was given. This would be fun.

* * *

I am so sorry for the extremely late update! It's just, the last month and a half of school have been really hard cause we were finishing everything up and preparing for finals and stuff. Then I have to go back and actually do my finals, gosh. I really don't like school.

I typed this all up today so I'm sorry if it seems rushed or if it's a little choppy but I really tried my hardest to get it done quickly. Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you liked it, despite any mistakes that have been in there! And I'll put Tsuna's punishment in the next chapter. Thank you to the following reviewers: **Hime-chan Natsumi, thor94, nakamura1miu, and two guests.**

Thanks again for reading and I hope you liked it! Bye-bee!


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you to all that reviewed on the last chapter! **Crucifix HiMe, MetalGodlv66, thor94, DragonSlayer412, Arco-Alaude, and two guests.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

* * *

Tsuna sighed as he shivered, hands shoved as far as they could go in his pockets. Reborn had dropped G and Gokudera off at G's apartment so Gokudera could unpack what was left, since his things had arrived earlier and G had already started. Gokudera had complained about G touching his things and then the two had started another argument that had lasted the entire ride and he wouldn't be surprised if the two were still arguing about it right now.

Then after, Reborn had dropped his car off at wherever that place was -he wasn't really paying attention since he was falling asleep- and then told him that they had to walk home. He had stared at him for a moment before sluggishly getting out of the car and quickly following behind the older man. And of course the walk had to be at least half an hour away from his house by foot and it was an especially cold night tonight. Why did it feel like his luck was getting worse?

Plus he remembered what Reborn said at the airport, that he wasn't done talking with him. But he hoped Reborn had forgotten about it, though that was next to impossible so it was more likely that he'd bring it up soon or wait until they got home. But he really didn't want to continue that conversation, at all. The first time they had met, he had almost immediately made Reborn his idol, someone he -literally- looked up to for inspiration. It was bad enough that he knew that he was being abused at home. He would feel even worse if Reborn found out that he was being bullied by, well, everyone kid in town. Whether older or younger. He didn't want Reborn to think any less of him and then le-leave him, like the very few _somewhat _friends he had made in kindergarten.

Now they were included with his bullies and teasers and he didn't want Reborn to become like those in his family, always looking down on him. Expecting him to fail and mess up at everything little thing he did. To treat him like he was...nothing. He snapped out of his not-so-motivational thoughts at the nudge on his arm and looked up at Reborn. "Hm?"

"Are you being bullied?" Reborn asked, looking straight down at him. Tsuna froze up for a moment at the stare and looked down as fast as he could. Of course he chooses now to do it, when he can't run away from the question. He really should've seen this coming.

"I um… D-do we have to talk about this n-now?" he mumbled, still not looking up at him.

Reborn stopped and Tsuna stopped too, awkwardly shifting from one leg to the other. They stood there for what seemed like forever to Tsuna, but in truth was only around a minute. Reborn turned to him and placed an arm on his shoulder, squeezing softly. "Tsuna, I'm serious. Are you being bullied?" he asked again, making sure Tsuna kept eye contact with him.

Tsuna stared up at Reborn silently before abruptly scrunching his eyes shut and pulling back a little, nodding slowly. He didn't want to see Reborn's expression. He already had a pretty good guess of what the look in his eyes would be. Disappointment. Probably a some pity to add to that. He must be feeling sorry for him, a little sympathetic to make him feel better. He really didn't want to look. He let out a startled squeak when he felt himself being pulled forward, his face pressed again Reborn's chest. "R-Reborn?" he mumbled, chancing a peek up at the man.

Reborn had his eyes shut, resting his forehead against Tsuna's with his face pulled into a grimace of guilt. "Sorry, Tsuna. This is my fault, I'm sorry,"

"H-huh? What're you talking about, Reborn?" Tsuna asked, pulling back a little from the hug. "How is any of this your fault?" Reborn only hugged him closer, whispering another apology under his breath instead of answering his question. His brows furrowed in confusion. What did Reborn mean it was his fault. He didn't do anything that would cause his parents to abuse him, or the people at school to bully him. It's not like he could do anything about it in the first place. So why would he think it was his fault?

* * *

Tsuna let out a warmed sigh as he stepped into the house, taking off his shoes while Reborn closed the door behind them. The rest of the walk home had been quiet after what Reborn had said. He never answered any of his questions about what he said but he guessed it was fine. He didn't really understand why he was apologizing in the first place so it didn't really make _that much _of a difference. He jumped when he heard a crash from the living room. What was that?

"T-Takeshi, what the hell!" Oh, it was his brother and Yamamoto-san.

"Ahaha. Sorry, sorry! Reflex." He peeked into the living room to see Yamamoto standing behind the couches with his brother sitting on the floor in front of the back doors, a hole through of them. Well, that explains the crash. Ah, he would have to clean that up soon and maybe get the glass replaced. He frowned. He might have to ask Nana-san for some money on that cause he didn't think he has enough money to pay for a replacement.

He let out a squeak when he felt someone tug on his hood and glanced up to see Reborn standing behind him impatiently. "Wh-what's wrong?" he asked, turning around to face him.

"Bedroom. Now," was the response he got from the Italian man and he nodded as he pulled off his jacket, walking into the guest room with Reborn on his heels. He stripped out of his clothes and put on the pj's Reborn handed to him. "Tsuna."

He turned to look up at Reborn after pulling on his pyjama bottoms. "Y-yeah?" Awkward, awkward, awkward. Everything was so awkward right now and he really didn't know why. Maybe it was the way Reborn was looking at him like he wanted to say something, say it so bad that it was eating him up on the inside and he just couldn't get it out. Or the fact that he thought it had something to do with the bullying again and he really didn't want to speak about it anymore, even though that was quite unlikely. Maybe it was the fact that his mother's words were just coming back to him and he thinks that somehow Reborn found out and was about to ask why he didn't say anything about it to him before, and that was even more unlikely.

Maybe he was just over thinking everything, a little _too much_ and things aren't as bad as they seem right now, but the feeling of being unwanted and unloved was hitting him so hard right now for some reason. And he was just hoping Reborn would say something to get rid of the silence between them, something, _anything_. Even if it would be something he might regret hearing. God, where were all these thoughts coming from all of a sudden? Nothing majorly bad had actually happened to him today so there was no reason to be feeling like this.

"Tsuna?" He looked up at his name and realized he hadn't heard a word Reborn had said for the past two minutes. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Now he's just embarrassing himself even more in front of the person he admired. He really wished he would disappear. He heard Reborn sigh and mentally flinched. That would always mean something bad when someone sighed like that around him. Maybe Reborn was annoyed with his lack of attention?

"I'll start again. Do your brothers and parents know?" Tsuna nodded as he sat on the bed, Reborn sitting down next to him. "If they -your brothers- aren't doing anything about it then you should tell your teachers or the principal, or someone that you know would help you. You can't just let this continue the way it's going now or you're going to get hurt, Tsuna, worse than a stab wound. And I'd rather not see something like that happen to you."

"B-but… There's no one there that would help me. N-Natsu-san and Giotto-san have been ignoring everything since it first started and - and I've asked for help, b-but they always brushed it off so I stopped. A-and the teachers won't help me because the-they're included and the p-principal already knows because I've said it before, b-but nothing is ever done. I-I know about privacy laws, and th-that they can't tell me anything about _what _they've done, if they have d-done something. B-but they never do anything. T-the only person that has tried helping is G-san b-but it doesn't last for long."

"Is there anyone else that could help that you haven't asked for help?"

"W-well… Hibari-san has helped me once, wh-when they were beating me up. B-but that might've been because I was so close to unconsciousness a-and it would've been tr-troublesome to leave me lying there."

"Who's Hibari?"

"He's the leader o-of the Disciplinary Committee. He keeps order in the school, is what he says."

"Obviously not if you're being bullied on a daily basis."

"B-but he watches over a-all of Namimori, s-so a small bullying case like mine i-is a lot less important than wh-what he deals with e-everyday." Tsuna tugged on the hem of his shirt as he said it in a quiet mumbled. Reborn sighed again and Tsuna flinched outwardly this time, tugging at a loose string on the leg of his pants.

"Tsuna, you can't just-"

"It's fine." He cut Reborn off as he scooted back on the bed, pulling the covers up to his neck. "I'm used to it anyway, so it doesn't really matter. A-anyway, I'm really tired. From walking. S-so, can we just, go to bed?" He stared at the man with pleading eyes, hoping he would drop the subject and never bring it up again, or at least wait until tomorrow.

Reborn stayed silent for a minute before nodding. "Alright." Reborn crawled into bed next to him, having already changed into nightwear. "Goodnight, Tsuna."

"Goodnight, Reborn. And, thank you for worrying."

"Sure." He blushed when Reborn leaned closer and kissed his forehead, unconsciously snuggling into the older's chest.

* * *

**(Time Skip - Two Days)**

"U-um, how long a-are you going to be g-gone?" Tsuna asked as he looked up at Reborn. He looked back down almost immediately when their eyes met and fiddled with the blanket as he waited for an answer. Reborn sighed softly and sat back down on the bed next to him, resting a hand on top of his.

"I'll be gone for five days at most. I'll try to get back as soon as possible but it's a really important job and it's not something I can afford to mess up on so I have to take my time while doing it. Ok?" Tsuna nodded, unconsciously turning his hand over to gently grip Reborn's. Reborn smiled slightly and leaned over to press a kiss to Tsuna's temple, running his free hand through his hair. "I'll come back as soon as I can, I promise. Don't stress yourself and make sure to get enough rest while I'm gone. Alright?"

"A-alright." Reborn frowned.

"Tsuna, is there something wrong?"

"H-huh? U-uh, no. Nothing's wrong." W-why was he asking if something was wrong? Can he tell that he's nervous or something? Tsuna glanced down at his hand wrapped around Reborn's. His hand wasn't shaking or sweating so that doesn't give anything away. "W-why?"

"You're stuttering more than normal. Is there something you're not telling me?" Reborn gently squeezed his hand and scooted closer.

"W-what? No. The-there's nothing…" He trailed off, not sure what to say. If he continued he'd probably end up giving himself away. But then if he didn't say anything, Reborn would get even more suspicious and press on the subject and he wasn't good under pressure. Uh, he needed to think of something before he ended up blurting everything out. Ah...Um… "I-I'm just a little worried, yeah. That's all. I d-don't know what you do for work. A-and you said it'll take up to a week at most. Right? S-so I thought th-that it might be something st-stressful. A-and I don't want you overworking yourself. Yeah. That's all." That… Was completely idiotic.

"Are you sure that's all?" Of course Reborn didn't believe him. Why would he believe something as stupid as that? It wasn't any of his business what Reborn did for work and it was unlike him to worry about things like that, since he didn't like to pry into others' business. He just hopes that Reborn would just leave it alone.

"I-I'm sure, that's all." He gave a wary smile and internally sighed in relief when Reborn seemed to believe him, or at least gave up on getting the truth out of him, for now.

"Alright. Well I better get going or I'm gonna be late." He watched in slight despair as Reborn stood, walking towards the door. "Bye, Tsuna." Reborn turned to him as he said it and an image of a younger Reborn saying the same thing to his ten year old self flashed before his eyes. He sighed softly, sadly.

"Goodbye, Reborn. Be safe." Reborn smiled faintly and nodded, closing the door behind him as he stepped out. He sat there on the bed, unmoving, as he heard the front door open and close. Nana-san and Iemitsu-san would notice as soon as they got home that Reborn was gone and his brothers were going out today so he'd be home alone with them. But, that's fine. He was prepared for this. He knew it would happen.

He slowly made his way out of and into the kitchen. He might as well eat now while he had the chance, knowing that he wouldn't be able to later. Maybe the next few days either.

* * *

Reborn was worried. Well that was an understatement. He was extremely anxious as he made his way to the car lot. The way Tsuna behaved just now had thrown him off a little and he knew there was something bothering him. He also knew that it had everything to do with his parents and something they had said/done to him. Tsuna was keeping something from him, and it was their fault. He just couldn't figure out what he was.

Normally if Tsuna was keeping something from him, it wouldn't be a problem. The boy was practically an open book, extremely easy to read at all times. But just now…He hadn't known Tsuna could be guarded when he wanted to be. He couldn't tell a thing. Not even the look in his eyes gave anything away about what he could've been hiding. All they showed was worry and…despair -maybe- when he looked into them. He couldn't understand. And that was a first.

Reborn glanced back down the street, no longer able to see the house. He didn't want to leave Tsuna alone with them. He knew Tsuna's brothers would be gone today so he and his parents would be the only ones home. They could do all they wanted to him while everyone was out and he felt disgusted to know he couldn't do anything to stop it. A glare settled on his face when he thought about what Nana and Iemitsu could do to Tsuna once they get home. Everyone would be gone by then so nothing would be holding them back.

He glanced up when he heard someone cleared throat and nearly rolled his eyes when he saw some chick walking up to him, a sly smile on her make up covered face. He growled in annoyance but the lady obviously took it the wrong way. "Good evening," she said softly as she fluttered her lashes. He really didn't have time for this.

"Yes?" he asked, his eye twitching at the way she so boldly latched onto his arm.

"I couldn't help but notice that you're alone right now, so close to the night." she mumbled, one hand trailing down his arm to his hand.

"Yeah, and you are too. I don't really see your point."

"Well I was just wondering if you'd like to get to know me. I'd definitely want to get to know you. My place is nearby."

"No thanks, I have business to take care of and someone waiting for me at home. I don't have time to play around with the likes of you." He knew that came out snobbish but he was pissed right now. The longer this took, the longer it would take for him to finish, meaning the more time those two would have to torture Tsuna.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you were a little late getting home." Reborn's eyebrow twitched.

"One, not a she. Two, not interested. Three, get off or else," he snapped as he glared down at her and she shivered, immediately letting go of his arm and took a few steps back.

"F-fine then. Who'd want to sleep with an ass like you," she stuttered, her face burning red.

"You did a few seconds ago. Now if you'll excuse me." He didn't wait for a response as he stepped past her, quickening his pace for the time wasted on what just happened. God, every little thing was just getting on his nerves now.

* * *

"Giotto, I don't think we should leave today."

"Huh? Why not G? We picked this day specifically so we could hang out with Asari for the first time since he was back. You can't just back out." Giotto frowned up at his friend as he pulled on his shirt. "That's just not cool, bro."

"That's not it. I just think we should move it until Reborn gets back."

"The sadist is leaving?"

"He's already left. But that's not the point! Reborn has been the reason Tsuna hasn't been getting abused lately. Once he's gone, and once we're gone, it'll start up again."

"I highly doubt that, G."

"And I thought my friend was smarter than that," G said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"Wha-! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You're parents hate Tsuna's guts for no goddamn reason and have been abusing him for most of his life. You really think they won't abuse him while they have the chance? You've seen the way your dad's been treating Tsuna since Reborn got here! What makes you think they won't start once he's gone?!"

"W-well…" Giotto trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. So G had a point. He's been making a lot of good ones lately. So… That means that his parents would abuse Tsuna as soon as they had a chance. And it would partially be their fault since they knew it could happen and _left anyway_, _letting _it happen. Hm… But he didn't want to cancel on Asari. It's been ages since they hung out together and they were all looking forward to today so... He couldn't postpone it just like that. "But wouldn't that be rude?"

"Wouldn't letting your brother be beaten when we could've stopped it be even worse?"

"I'm not cancelling just for Tsunayoshi, G. I'm sure he can take care of himself." G slapped himself in the forehead with a large sigh. He really felt like banging his head against a while right now...Maybe banging Giotto's head against a wall would help.

"He obviously cannot take care of himself when his own mother stabbed him in the side."

"Mom didn't-"

"Oh really? Then let's go ask him. Right now. Come on, let's go. You can wait behind the corner while I talk to him because he's never going to say it when he knows you're listening."

"Ok, fine. Let's do it." Giotto stood after putting on his jacket and followed G out of his room, down the stairs. He waited behind the corner while G walked into the kitchen to talk to Tsuna.

"Oi, Tsuna." Tsuna looked up from his plate of food. "Was your mom really the one to stab you?"

"H-huh? Y-you were there when Reborn asked, right?"

"Yeah, but I just wanted to make sure. So did she?"

"Y-yes. B-but I'm sure she was just frustrated! Sh-she...probably wasn't thinking when she did it. S-so please don't be mad at her for it, G-san."

"She's your mother, Tsuna. No mother should do that to their kid."

"B-but…I'm not a **good** kid. G-Giotto-san and Natsu-san a-are much better than me. I-I'm just…useless. I can't do anything right. I always mess everything up. I can't even walk straight without tripping over something. Who _wouldn't _be disappointed to have a son like me?" Giotto frowned as he heard his brother speak about himself. He didn't know he thought so little of himself. And his _-their- _mom really did stab him, it seems. Wait… What the hell is wrong with him?! He just found out that his mother did actually stab his youngest brother and that's all he had to say?!

Giotto banged his head against the wall and G smiled, happy that the idiot finally did what he's been wanting to do. "G-san, what was that?"

"Nothing, Tsuna. Probably something stupid." Giotto glared at the wall before turning and walking back up the stairs. Why does G have to be right all the time?

* * *

Yamamoto stared at Natsu as he watched him pack his bag. Natsu was spending the night at his house tonight and the night after, and he was waiting for him to finish packing so they could drop his things off then go out. Though, there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind saying they should probably stay. His instincts were telling him something bad was going to happen if they left, and he was always one to trust his instincts. But he knew Natsu wouldn't think anything of it, even if he had the same feeling. "Hey Natsu."

Natsu turned and looked over at him. "What?"

"Do you ever think that, maybe you don't pay enough attention to Tsuna?" he asked. He honestly had no idea where the thought came from but he didn't question it. It was better to just go with it or he'd end up thinking himself into a rut. "Like… You don't really notice a lot of things a normal twin would about him. You know what I mean?"

Natsu stared dumbly at space for a moment before slowly nodding. "It...was when Reborn showed up that I noticed that, I knew basically nothing about Tsuna expect for his name. I mean, I didn't even know his real birthday until he actually said it. Even though twins are supposed to know almost everything about each other."

"No that's not what I mean. What I mean is… It's like you're purposely, yet unconsciously, ignoring him. Like, when you ignore people you avoid them completely and take every action into making it obvious so everyone knows, including that person. But with Tsuna, you just avoid him, but you don't realize you're doing it. Everyone can see that you're avoiding him, except for you, the person that's actually avoiding him. Did you really not notice?"

"How have I been avoiding Tsuna? And if I have, it's totally not on purpose."

"Maybe it's your conscious doing it then, like I said. But like, when he's struggling and it's obvious he needs help you kinda, look the other way. And, we've seen him get bullied before, but we've never helped him. Plus, you never stand up for him when others are making fun of him. I'm sure they'd listen if you said something. And it's like you're just trying to avoid all contact with him completely."

Natsu zipped up his dufflebag as he thought. He didn't really do all those things, did he? He knew he didn't stand up for Tsuna when he should, but all the other stuff? He doesn't really remember doing anything like that. But then, when you do something unconsciously, it's easy to miss and/or forget. "Do I… Do I really do all of that?" he asked.

Yamamoto nodded with a small frown. He couldn't understand how Natsu didn't see it. He would make it so obvious almost all of the time. There's only a few instances where he's actually talked to Tsuna _in_ school and _around_ people, but those are few and far in between. It's like he's embarrassed to be with him with others around. "Natsu, do you hate Tsuna?"

Natsu stared at his boyfriend in shock. "Wh-what? No! Of course not! Why would I hate Tsuna?"

"Well, you don't act like you love him. I mean, you act like you're embarrassed to be around him half the time. Tsuna's… Tsuna seems like the perfect younger brother. He's small, cute, fluffy." Natsu stared at him quizzically at the word choice, but he ignored it. "He's always really nice to people, after all they've done to him. He never speaks back. He always does whatever he's told, no matter what. And he's...He's Tsuna."

"What does Tsuna being Tsuna have to do with anything about being the perfect little brother?"

"He's, you know. He's got this thing about him, that makes you wonder how in the world has he survived up until now. Because, honestly, if I was in his shoes, and had to go through all of that my entire life, including abuse from my parents, I would've have given up. I really would've killed myself by now, if I were him. But he hasn't. He hasn't, after all of that. That's… He must have a really strong will if he hasn't given up yet."

"Takeshi you… Tsuna isn't-"

"Natsu, everyone in school, except me, you, and a few others, hate him for no reason. They all bully and tease him, beat on him constantly, and no one does anything about it. Because they don't care. And I'm starting to think you don't either."

"Of course I care for Tsuna. I just don't know how to show it. He's antisocial, extremely shy and awkward. He doesn't even speak in public."

"But that shouldn't stop you from talking to him. You live in the same house for _kami's_ sake. You've lived with each other since birth. I'm pretty sure you should know by now how to talk to your own twin."

"Then what do you expect me to do? It's not like I can just change the way things are!"

"Why are things the way they are in the first place, Natsu? What happened when you guys were younger that made everything so bad between you?"

Natsu sighed loudly as he ran a hand through his hair. He really didn't know what to say to the question. He really couldn't remember any time when they were younger where Tsuna was ever open or genuinely happy. He had always had this look on his face that...that screamed sadness and, he always looked like he was begging for help. But he had always, looked the other way. Though, he did remember something, though not clearly. But… "Takeshi, have you ever had this scene in your head were it's like, from when you're really young and your memory is just developing. And like, it just pops up randomly sometimes, really clear but others times really blurry. And then, you can't tell if it was a dream or not, or just a random thought. But then, you think about it more and it actually is a memory."

Yamamoto stayed quiet for a moment before nodding. "I know, what you mean. There's always been one in the back of my mind. Normally, it's something that you try to forget, something you don't want to remember. But, your brain knows it's important, so it keeps bringing it back up so you would remember. Because it's an important memory. Why? What's it about?"

"Well…" Natsu sighed again. "I remember coming home, one day. I think it was a half day and I had stayed out a little later. I had heard yelling in the living room and I had gone to see what it was and I saw dad, yelling at Tsuna, with mom standing there and letting it happen. I had just thought that he had broken something again so I didn't say anything but then… Mom had walked up to him, and slapped him, at least three times, before dad had pushed him down and stepped on his arm. I-I… I didn't know what to do so I just, I turned and ran up the stairs. I didn't say anything about it. I acted like it never happened because… I just… How would you react to something like that?"

"Natsu, how old were you when it happened?"

"I think it was when I was seven. Like, a few days after our birthday, maybe."

"...Isn't that when Tsuna came to school with a broken arm? And he said that he had tripped and fallen pretty hard down the stairs?"

Natsu nodded slowly, guilt and disgust welling up in his chest. He had just let that happen to Tsuna, when he could've done something to stop it. And he was, was completely disgusted at his parents for doing something like that to him, their son, and his twin. The twin that he knew nothing about, and never payed attention to, and was unconsciously avoiding like his life depended on it. He rested his head in his hands. "I am the worst fucking twin ever."

* * *

Tsuna shifted awkwardly as he played with the hem of his shirt. "U-um… I-is there a reason a-as to why you're all st-staring at me?" he asked, glancing at the five people in front of him. G was staring at him worriedly, Giotto looked slightly indifferent but you could tell there was a little worry swirling in his eyes while Asari stared at him with concern and a small amount of guilt. Natsu looked like he was dying of guilt and the crease in his eyebrows made it seem even worse and Yamamoto was looking at him with something akin to pity and maybe a little bit of concern.

"We don't really have to go you know, Giotto. I don't mind staying here for the day. Really." Tsuna looked up at Asari in confusion. What was he talking about? The three of them had been planning this ever since before he left for camp. He would know. His mother had told them Giotto had asked her to make lunch for them for today so he was supposed to do it instead. And they had asked for a lot of well-prepared things that took a long time to make.

"Yeah, Primo. Asari is fine with it. We should stay. We could always go next Saturday, you know. It's not that big of a deal." G was trying to convince his brother as well. Did something happen so they didn't want to go out anymore? Or did they know something was going to happen while they were out and they didn't want it to happen so they changed their minds about it. But what would be happening? There wasn't going to be a storm today, and there weren't any events going on that would disrupt their peace.

"Guys, I'm sure it's fine. We're going out. I'm not going to waste today lounging around the house. It's supposed to be the perfect day out and I don't want to miss the chance, alright? We've been planning this for ages! You can't just _not _want to go now."

"So you're saying the reason, that you know of, why we don't want to go, is unimportant? Is that what you're saying, Primo?"

"I'm not saying it's unimportant. I'm saying it's it can easily be resolved and nothing will happen if we go. It's only one day!"

"If it could be easily resolved, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"Fine! Then you stay home because I'm not bailing out on the day we've been planning for nearly two months!"

"Then maybe I will since you're obviously not going to anything about the situation even though he's your brother!" Tsuna's eyes widened. They were talking about him!

"Y-you don't have to stay home for me! Really! I-I know you've been pl-planning this for a long time. A-and I don't want to g-get in the way of that. S-so you shouldn't worry about m-me. Really." He gave a shaky smile as he spoke, his hands gripping the ends of his shirt. He didn't want them to worry about him, but he was very glad they were. He wasn't sure what would be done to him as soon as everyone was out of the house. He's faced many punishment before and he's still here but… He's never faced one for disobeying and telling someone what they had done to him.

"Tsuna…" G murmured quietly with a frown. He couldn't understand what his friend was thinking. He knew that his parents hated the kid, and he knew what they'd do as soon as they were gone. But he just wouldn't listen to reason. "Listen-"

"No, i-it's fine. I'm fine, really. I-I'll be ok, G-san. I'll be...fine." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than them. His voice was shaking while he said and he was pretty he was shaking by now, considering all the thoughts that were swirling in his head. M-maybe he should stop thinking about it because it wasn't making anything better.

"Tsuna." Tsuna looked over at his twin. "Are you really sure you'll be fine? Y-you don't really look it, and your hands are shaking." He knew they wouldn't be convinced. Of course not. He's always been a terrible liar and he knows that. Ah, he didn't even understand why he was trying right now.

"I'm sure. I-it's not as if I-I haven't dealt with this b-before. R-right? So, I'll be fine." At that, they all frowned. He just made everything worse, didn't he? "A-ah, I'll just...go back to sleep. I'm obviously not helping anything here so what's the point anymore?" Tsuna continued to mumbled to himself as he turned and made his way to the guest room.

"Oh no you don't." G grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, turning him back around. "You cannot just say that, and expect me to leave right after."

"I'll be fine, really. Y-you all shouldn't worry ab-bout me. And I f-feel awkward when you d-do, except for G-san because h-he does it incessantly, s-since you never r-really did i-in the past. A-and it's not like N-Nana-san and Iemitsu-san a-are aiming to k-kill me. I'll be fine." Ok, that was a total and complete lie. The two were definitely out to kill, just in a slow painful way. Dragging it on and on. But that's not what he should be thinking about right now, so let's just throw that thought away.

"They're still aiming to hurt you, Tsuna."

"It doesn't matter," Tsuna replied firmly though on the inside he was shaking. They would never leave if he didn't convince them and if the punishment was put off any longer it would be a lot worse than it could be now. He just wanted to hurry and get it over with so it would be done and he wouldn't have mentally and emotionally stress himself out about what could happen. "It never mattered before, and it doesn't matter now. I'm used to it, and nothing will change so it will continue. It's fine. You all shouldn't interrupt your schedules for something as trivial as this. Now please leave, or you'll be late for what you have planned."

G frowned while the others stared at him in mild shock. They hadn't heard him speaking without a stutter before so it was a real surprise. G however, was thinking of the many things that could happen as soon as they got home, and it wasn't pretty. There was no way he wanted to leave Tsuna here with them! But, when the kid got stubborn, it was hard to convince him otherwise. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Fine! Fine. We'll go. But I'm gonna be calling frequently to check up on you. And if you can't come to the phone, I'm calling Reborn and telling him. Don't think I won't."

Tsuna chuckled quietly at the look on G's face as he spoke, causing said teen to blush. "Ok, G-san."

G smiled softly and ruffled Tsuna's hair. "Alright, kid. Make sure you don't skip lunch while we're gone, alright? I don't want Reborn on my case once he gets back."

Tsuna nodded, watching as they all grabbed their things and walked out the door, waving when they all glanced back. He wondered why they were all so in sync all of a sudden. Well, not something he should ponder. He closed the door when he could no longer see them, his stomach sinking. He hoped that, they would be home soon.

* * *

Tsuna held back a scream when his mother's foot connected with his stitches, cringing instead and curling up into a ball in a failed attempt to try and protect his side. He let out a harsh breath when his father's heel dug into the small of his back. "Tsu-kun," he winced at the tone his mother was using, "would you please repeat the first rule we've taught you." He breathed in through his nose in hopes of calming himself down. He flinched when the heel pressed harder. "Tsu-kun."

"I...I-I must n-never show others m-my pain."

"Hm~, and why is that?"

"B-because drawing attention is..._haa_...is pathetic and use...useless." He let out a small sigh when the heel eased up.

"And why?"

"B-because, n-no one would believe, a-a sorry sort, l-like me." He shivered when he felt his side throb. If the stitches were disrupted anymore, they would start bleeding again. He couldn't...couldn't let them find out.

"Now, Tsu-kun, rule number two."

"Do not speak, of what has been done. Because...because, you'll be troubled and p-put in-" he cringed when they foot moved away only for his mother to slap his upturned cheek. That would swell, maybe. He might need to lie about that, or put on some make up.

"Not 'put in', Tsu-kun. We've talked about this already, haven't we? Now fix your mistake."

"Hai. Y-you'll be exposed to danger, because of my mistake." His eyes faded as his hands numbed.

"Rule three," he said quietly, "Always do what you're...told or be punished. Rule four, never...break rule two or three or...be punished. Rule five, know this is for my own good and be thankful that I'm still...alive. Rule six, if found out…deny most or all claims. Cannot-" His mother slapped his cheek again.

"Repeat," she ordered.

"Rule six, if found out...deny most or all claims. Must not reveal truth or be punished. Rule seven, must not let brother's know or they will...they will be subjected to equivalent punishments. Rule eight, if outsi...outsiders find out, must convince otherwise or be punished. Must not let them tell others or be punished. Rule nine, if Nana-san and Iemitsu-san have disagreed on type of punishment, both will be given. Must not complain or be punished. Rule ten, follow all rules and will not be punished."

"Hm~, that's a good boy, Tsu-kun. So, do you know what happens now that you've told someone?" Nana asked with a small smile, running a hand through his hair. He stared blankly at the wall for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Hai. Ultimate punishment. Nana-san and Iemitsu-san will discipline until satisfied. Then I will be put in solitary confinement. Can-" Her nails dug into his side, right above his stitches, "Must not complain or extra punishment. Must not scream or cry or extra punishment. Must take what food given or extra punishment. Must not ask for more or extra punishment. If obeyed, will be nursed back to proper health. If two are done, will not eat. If three are done, will be chained. If all are done, will...will be not be forgiven."

"That's all for today. That man said he'd be gone for at most, five days right?" Tsuna nodded numbly, "Good. Now go cover your wounds, Tsu-kun. Remember, rule number one."

"Must never show others my pain. Hai." He slowly stood, hand lightly pressed to his side as he walked. He ignored the blood he felt dribbling down his leg as he made his way to the bath. Had to wash off the blood. Couldn't let them find out. Had to hide it. Hide everything. Couldn't...couldn't…

Tsuna's hand fell limply to his side as his body ran on autopilot, doing all the things he'd done so many times before. Bathe and wash off the blood. Treat and bandage all fresh and reopened wounds. Cover bandages with baggy clothing. Put on concealer to hide any red or blue on face. Take a few pain relievers. And finally, go to bed whether tired or not. Must not disturb for the rest of the day or be punished.

* * *

Tsuna hummed softly as he set up the table. He was able to answer the phone each time G called without any problems but he was sure G would still try to interrogate his parents when he got home. That was fine though, he already had a good story planned for it, if it did happen. He filled each plate with food, pouring a different amount of drink in each cup. He closed the fridge just as the door open, G being the first one in the kitchen. "What happened?" was the first thing out of his mouth.

"What happened with what?" he asked softly.

"On the phone, you sounded like you were in pain. Did they do anything to you while we were gone? Do you have any increased injuries?" Tsuna stared ahead blankly as G gripped his shoulders, the grip getting tighter the more he spoke.

He gently removed G's hands from his shoulders, letting them fall to his sides. "I'm fine, G-san. I just bumped my side and hit my stitches on accident. That's all. They're fine though, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Tsuna, you're quieter than usual. Are you sure you're feeling ok?"

"I feel fine. Just a little tired." Tsuna smiled slightly when he saw the skeptic look on G's face. "You worry too much, G-san. Nothing happened."

"Yet," G pressed with a frown, "Nothing has happened yet, Tsuna. I _know_ something is wrong."

"I'd tell you if there was something, you know that. Now, the food is going to get cold the longer you wait so you should eat." G stared at him for a moment before sighing and nodding.

"Alright. I'll leave it, for now. But if anything else happens that makes me more suspicious than I am now, we're bringing it back up." Tsuna nodded, motioning to G's seat at the table where Giotto and Asari were already sitting. "I'm serious you know."

"I know, G-san. The food is getting cold." G sat down, muttering under his breath about his suspicions while Tsuna only smiled.

"Oh, right. Tsuna, tomorrow we'll be staying at Asari's house, then the day after we're going to my apartment." Tsuna held back from freezing in place. Natsu wasn't going to be here tomorrow either since he was spending the night at Yamamoto's again and then, it's a school day the next day so they'll all be gone, all day. Reborn said that he had to stay home a bit more until he was properly healed so he wouldn't be going to school until Wednesday. "I'll still be calling to check up on you though."

"O-ok. I-I hope you enjoy dinner." Tsuna's eyes dimmed further but no one seemed to notice.

* * *

"Disgusting, ungrateful little brat!" He flinched when his father's hand connected with his cheek for nth time. "I can't believe you. Talking to them as if you aren't ruining their lives, like you aren't dragging them down! You're nothing but dead weight in this family, you hear me! I don't understand why Nana wanted to keep you. You've brought nothing but shame to the Sawada name!" He stared blankly ahead as his father continued to beat him, using any and everything he could get his hands on.

Numb, he felt numb. He knew it should hurt, everything should hurt right now, but he couldn't feel anything. He could see it. See the blood on his arms, the scratches on his legs, the cuts on his stomach. But he couldn't...couldn't feel a thing. This isn't...right. He always wondered why. Why things were like this. Why everything had changed from before. He liked...liked it better back then. When he was only ignored. When he faded into the background. When no one cared what he did or what he said. When it didn't matter whether he was actually there or not. When it was so easy, to be forgotten.

Back to the time when...When his mother didn't hate him. When she smiled, really smiled at him. When it wasn't only for cover. When he kindness was true. Before… Before she started listening to this man. The man that ruined his life, but still the man he wouldn't be here without.

"Pathetic little shit. Rules one, five, and seven."

"Rule one," he started automatically, his voice barely above a whisper, "Must never show others my pain because, drawing attention is pathetic and useless because, no one would believe, a sorry sort, like me. Rule five, know this is for my own good and...and be thankful I'm still alive. Rule seven, must never...never let brothers know or...or they will...will…" His vision was starting to fade. But he had to finish the rule or… "R-rule seven, m-must never let b-brothers know or they...will be subj-jected to equivalent p-punishments."

"What? About to pass out already? How weak. Fine, then I guess we're done for today. Go clean yourself up," Iemitsu said as he turned.

"Hai." He waited until he heard the room door close before slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. He paused for a moment to catch his breath, weighting the thought of crawling instead of walking. He decided on the latter since he would be much faster, and he had to clean up the blood before it stained. His body still felt numb, but the numbness would fade, like it always did. Just in time for another beating.

* * *

"Ne, Tsu-kun. Do you know what today is?" Tsuna stared blankly ahead without answering. He was slouched on the couch, Nana sitting down next to him. "Hm~? Are you already gone, Tsu-kun? Come on, look at Mama." Tsuna slowly turned his head in her direction.

"Hai, Mama."

"That's a good boy, Tsu-kun. Now, do you know what today is?"

"Hai, Mama."

"Good. Then, you know what happens right?" Tsuna nodded. "Iemitsu will be here in a moment. He's talking to Giotto's friend on the phone right now, asking for you. He's giving a bit of trouble."

"...Friend."

"Mhm. G-kun, you know. He knows Tsu-kun, you let him know. But I've already punished you for that so it's ok. And you've been doing a good job of keeping him off. I suppose that means we won't have to go as hard on you as we normally would. Isn't that great?"

"Hai, Mama."

"Ah, it's been so long since you've called me that Tsu-kun. I wonder when you stopped since I don't remember ever telling you to call me Nana-san. Hm, it must've been Iemitsu then. I'll have to talk to him about that later." Nana looked up when she heard someone walk in. "Ah, Iemitsu. Are you done with the talk?"

"No. The brat refuses to hang up unless he talks to him. He's not giving up. And if I hang up he'll come here instead."

"That might be a problem. Tsu-kun can't speak coherently right now. Can't you tell him Tsu-kun will call him back later or something?"

"I did but he wouldn't listen."

"Ah, Gio-kun has such troublesome. Tsu-kun, go and tell him that you're alright and that you have to go because you're making lunch right now."

"Hai, Mama." Tsuna stood, making his way into the hallway and picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Tsuna? What's wrong? Are you alright? Why wouldn't your dad let you come to the phone?"

"Sorry, G-san. I'm fine but I have to go. I'm making lunch right now."

"Your voice sounds strained. What's wrong with your voice? Does your throat hurt or something?"

"I'm fine. But I have to go, the food is burning. Sorry. Goodbye, G-san."

"Tsuna, wait a-" Tsuna hung up before he could finish his sentence. He stared at the phone for a moment before turning and walking back into the living room.

"Done talking, Tsu-kun?"

"Hai, Mama." Nana smiled as she walked over to him and ruffled his hair.

"Alright. We'll continue with the punishment later. And then later will be solitary confinement, for you. Now, let's go have some fun. Ne, Tsu-kun?"

"Hai, Mama."

* * *

G stared at his phone in surprise. Tsuna had just hung up on him. Tsuna hung up on him. Something is definitely wrong here. "G, calm down. Tsunayoshi said he was fine, which means there's nothing to worry about. You can't blame him for hanging up when the food was burning."

"That's impossible, Giotto. Whenever Tsuna's cooking, he turns the stove down before he goes to do something else. It's one of his habits. He wouldn't just forget a habit."

"You sound like a creepy stalker by saying that, G. You realize that right?"

"Actually, Giotto," Asari cut in before G could retort, "I noticed it too. When I came over the day I got back."

"G, before you say anything, I'm going to say this. It's not my place to invade in his personal life and it's not like I'm supposed to be watching him 24/7 so you shouldn't expect me to know something like that."

"Asari noticed the first day he came back, less than an hour after seeing him. You live with him and see him everyday and you don't know at least one of his habits?"

"It's not like it matters."

"This is exactly what I was talking about! You act as if everything about Tsuna has nothing to do with you and when something comes up about him, you get all upset that you didn't know even though you're the one that chose to ignore him!"

"And when have I ever gotten upset about not knowing something about him? I told you already, he doesn't want to come to me with his problems then he doesn't have to! I'm not going to force anything out of him!"

"You don't have to 'force' anything out of him because he'd willingly tell you almost anything you asked him about! And don't act like you don't know that because you damn well do! God, I don't understand why the hell it's all so hard for you!"

"What's hard for me, G? Huh? What's so hard for me?"

"That you can't understand that your youngest brother needs your goddamn help but can't ask for it because your fucking parents are playing him like a puppet with strings! I can tell you right now, that those two demons are doing all kinds of shit to Tsuna. And we're here just letting it happen because you're too much of a dipshit to realize that your little brother, needs your help. But of course, that wouldn't matter to you right? No, of course not! Because Tsuna means nothing to you! You don't care, you never have, and you probably never will! But I refuse to just sit here and let all of that happen. I'm calling Reborn."

"Hold on a minute, G!"

"Don't fucking talk to me. I thought, that you were better than this, Giotto. But I was wrong. You're no different from them. If Tsuna dies from blood loss, or some ruptured organ or a hit too hard to the head, I will pin the blame on you." G stepped out before either of the two could say anything, his phone held to his ear. He paused in front of the doorway before sighing. "I was really hoping you'd see past the facade your parents put up all these years. But I guess I was expecting too much from you. I'll be outside." Giotto and Asari stared at the doorway.

Asari was very shocked at what had just happened because G never raised his voice like that at Giotto. Sure he'd yell at him to finish his work but never to this extent. But, G was right. Giotto really didn't pay enough attention to Tsuna. He was always worrying about Natsu but not once had he thought about helping or protecting Tsuna. And if he had, he never shared the thought. He frowned. He definitely believed full heartedly that Tsuna was being abused by his parents and that something needed to be done. But it's not as if anyone would believe them if they said anything since those two had such a good image all over town. It would be impossible for them to convince anyone. Plus they would need proof. And he knew Tsuna would never sell out his parents to the authorities, even if he himself was proof. Because that was the way they raised him. His frown deepened. This was very worrying.

Giotto scowled. He couldn't believe his friend would say something like that to him! It's not like he could stop his parents from doing anything to Tsuna. He was still their kid and they couldn't prove anything since neither he nor Natsu had ever been slapped in their entire lives. They wouldn't believe if he said anything. They would probably think he was playing a sick joke, or something. It wasn't his fault!

* * *

_'Hello?'_

"Reborn? It's me."

_'What's wrong?'_

"I'm staying over at Asari's with Giotto so I told Tsuna that I'd call to check up on him. I called a little earlier and his dad was trying to stop me from talking to him but when he finally answered his voice was...off."

_'Off how?'_

"...You remember when you first met him and you told me he had almost no emotion whatsoever?"

_'...God, please no. It took me forever to get him out of that. I'm already on my way, I'll be there as soon as I can. I should be there by tomorrow afternoon. Don't let them know I'm coming.'_

"Reborn, I…I don't think Tsuna will be ok after this."

_'G don't-'_

"I'm serious, Reborn. Maybe you should...you know, before it happens again."

_'You know damn well why I can't, so please stop talking about it. I mean it.'_

"At least tell him, Reborn. He has the right to know."

Reborn paused a moment before sighing, _'Fine. I'll tell him. Just, after I'm sure he's ok.'_

"That's good enough for me."

* * *

Tsuna blinked back the spots in his eyes as he rewrapped his arms. They weren't all that deep this time so they should heal up nicely, not scars or faded marks. He closed the first aid kit and pushed it off to the side, leaning back against the wall. He hugged his legs to his chest, resting his cheek on his knees. It hadn't been that long since he came in here, right? It feels like it's been hours but that couldn't be because the sun was still shining brightly through the window.

Maybe it was because his wounds were pulsing, or his stitches needed to be disinfected but he didn't have the one needed, or his back and butt were hurt from sitting so long on the cement floor. Maybe it was because his head was hurting, and he felt like he was forgetting something. Something important. But he couldn't even begin to remember what it was, because all he could remember was the disappointed look on his mother's face as she spoke to him. And the sneer on his father's when she wasn't looking, daring him to speak out and try to resist. Resist what he had said was good for him, what he had told his mother would help better him in the future.

Ah, the numbness was coming back again. And the black spots were increasing. Maybe...maybe he should just go to sleep. Sleep sounded so good right now. But Nana-san would be coming soon to check on him, or at least he thought it would be soon, and she said he had to stay awake and wait for her, or he wouldn't get dinner. And he couldn't- no, mustn't complain or be punished.

Tsuna's head lolled to the side as his eyes drooped. So tired… Maybe sleep really wasn't all that of a bad thing. Maybe, his mother wouldn't mind. Maybe… Yeah. He would just...rest, for a bit. Tsuna's body fell to the side with a thud, his eyes closed and breathing shallow.

* * *

Reborn felt his heart stop for a second and held back from slamming his foot on the break. He breathed in deeply as he tried to shake off the feeling of dread. He frowned when the traffic increased, cursing under his breath when he had to slow down. He didn't have time for all of this. He had to get back before Tsuna completely lost his will, like…before. No, Reborn shook his head, he shouldn't think about it. It was a long time ago and he had gotten him through it, that's all that mattered. But it'll be a waste if he relapses back into it now.

He glanced around, his eyes landing on a secluded road off to the side that led the same way. He slowly backed up before driving onto the road, going well over the speed limit as he tried to make up for the lost time in traffic. He refused to let that happen again. He wouldn't allow it. He would keep his promise, positive.

* * *

"Natsu, what's wrong? Something bothering you?"

Natsu frowned with a small sigh. "I don't know, I just… I'm worried about Tsuna. You heard what G said too, right? And, I still feel guilty about, everything I did to him. And all that I didn't do but should have. And I'm just thinking about all of that right now and the feeling keeps getting worse. And G's words just now totally isn't helping any and I feel even worse. And, oh my gosh I feel so guilty. I need to go home."

"W-wait a minute," Yamamoto pulled on his arm before he could run out of the room, "You can't rush out like that. Plus, G said he'd be calling Reborn, so I'm sure Tsuna will be fine."

"B-but…" Natsu's frowned turned into a frustrated pout as he sat back down on the bed. "Won't it just get worse if we leave it? I mean, there has to be something we can do, right? I can't just...Augh! The guilt is eating me up inside, Takeshi! I don't know what to do."

Yamamoto casually wrapped and arm around Natsu's middle and pulled him closer so Natsu's head was resting on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll think of something, Natsu," he reassured.

"I hope you're right, Takeshi."

* * *

G tapped his foot incessantly, glancing down at his phone every two seconds before sighing. He tapped the rubbed of his pencil against his desk as his worry continued to increase, running a hand through his hair. Everyone was staring at him, most in worry but a few in annoyance, yet he failed to notice. "Ano, G-kun?" he looked up at his teacher, "Is something wrong?"

"Yes, but it's something personal."

"Yeah, sure it is." Giotto muttered under his breath. The two glared at each other, Asari sweatdropping as he tried to calm them down.

"We're in class now, you two. So please stop, you're disturbing everyone else."

"Well, according to Primo, no one but himself matters so I don't see why that would be a problem to him."

"Apparently to G, no one but that damned sadist and Tsuna matter so there wouldn't a reason for it to bother him, now would there?"

"Well maybe Tsuna would matter to you too if you payed attention to him and actual cared for him sometimes, yeah?"

"Who says I don't care for him? What would you know since all your attention is always on him?"

"Maybe it's the fact that you didn't know his real birthday. Or, you know, you ignore him everytime he comes to you for help -don't act like you don't!- and let everyone bully him to no end!"

"Maybe he doesn't want my help. Or maybe it's because you've never even give me a chance by the way you always react whenever someone says shit about him!"

"You should still say something because one person alone isn't going to help anything!"

"Then stop putting the job to help him on yourself!"

"And let him be pushed to suicide?"

"If he was going to commit suicide then I'm pretty sure he would've done it already, with all considered."

"You say it like you don't even care!"

"Well maybe I don't!" Both G's and Giotto's eye widened at Giotto's words while everyone else only watched in silence. "Wait, G. I didn't mean-"

"I'll make sure to tell him that while he's laying in a hospital bed, fighting for the life that your parents were trying to take a away." G looked down when his phone vibrated and immediately picked it up. "Hello?"

_'I'm about ten minutes away. I'll come pick you and the other idiots up because I know they'll be coming too.'_

"You can just not let them get in the car, you know."

_'Five minutes, I'm speeding up. If you aren't out there I'm going without you.'_

"Alright, I'm coming." G put his phone in his pocket after hanging up. "I'm leaving. He's coming to pick me up." They watched as G packed his things and walked out. Giotto sighed in exasperation as he also packed his things, motioning for Asari to do the same.

"You follow him. I'll go get Natsu and your brother." Asari nodded and the two of them quickly made their way out of the classroom.

* * *

"You're all idiots," Reborn muttered under his breath as G and Giotto continued to argue. "Will you two shut up! God you're annoying. Why the hell is this drive so goddamn long?"

"Well it's not my fault!"

"Hell yes, it's your fault you dumbass blonde!"

"At least my hair isn't pink, pinky!"

"Don't call me pinky, you idiot blonde!"

"_Koyubi_!"

"_Baka-kinpatsu_!"

"_Koyubi_!"

"_Baka-kinpatsu_!"

"Gyaaah! Both of you just shut the fuck up! You're not the only one having problems!" Natsu yelled, bonking both of them in the head. "You're argument means nothing right now, got it!" The two shrunk back into the car seat as they nodded.

"Idiots," Reborn sighed out. He parked the car in front of the house two minutes later and got out, G right behind him while the others lagged behind.

Reborn kicked the door open and ran in, G running straight into the guest room while he ran into the kitchen. When neither saw Tsuna, they both ran into the living room where Nana and Iemitsu were sitting, watching TV. "Where is he?" Reborn asked.

"Whatever do you mean, Reborn?" Nana asked, smiling up at him.

"Don't shit with me. Where is Tsuna and what have you done to him?"

"What I do with Tsu-kun does not concern you since he is not related to you in anyway and he is my son."

"It does concern me when he could be dying right now. Now where the hell is he?"

"Mom, why is the basement door locked? I need my batting equipment"

"Ah, I'll get it for you, Na-kun. Excuse me, Reborn." Reborn nodded to G who nodded back.

"You know, I've always had a question to ask you, Nana-san." G stepped in her way while Reborn stepped out of the living room and made his way to the basement door. He looked at it for a moment before stepping back and kicking near the lock. There was a crunch and he stepped forward, pushing the door the rest of the way open.

He turned on the light and made his way down the stairs. He looked around before walking over to another room, kicking in that door as well. His eyes landed on the lump at the back of the room. He rushed over and kneeled down, instantly checking for a pulse. He would be relieved, if only the beats weren't so far in between and barely even there. He picked Tsuna up bridal style and made his way back upstairs to G already contacting an ambulance. He brought Tsuna into the guest room and laid him down on the bed, sitting down next to him as he waited for the ambulance.

He gently shook Tsuna's shoulder, gripping it tightly as he tried to wake him up. "Tsuna. Tsuna, you need to wake up." He frowned when Tsuna didn't move and tightened his grip on his shoulder, pulling him up so he was leaning against him, Tsuna's back to his chest.

"Tsuna," he whispered as he gently grasped Tsuna's hand, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles in worry, "I'm sorry, Tsuna. This is really all my fault. I shouldn't have left you here, when I knew this would happen. Or, I at least should've brought you some place safe before I left, instead of leaving you here. I'm sorry. I love you, Tsuna. So please don't die." Reborn kissed Tsuna's cheek, wrapping his arms around Tsuna's middle while he rested his chin on his shoulder.

"Reborn," G stepped into the room a few minutes later, "the ambulance is here. They're bringing in a stretcher for him." Reborn nodded as he shifted Tsuna so he was holding him bridal style again and stood, walking out into the hallway where they had the stretcher ready, laying him down on it. He followed them out and into the back of the ambulance after they strapped him in, glaring when they tried to tell him he couldn't come since he wasn't a relative. G followed in after him, sitting down next to him with clenched fist.

The two watched as they connected a bunch of tubes and wires to him, hooking up the heart monitor, their hearts dropping at the slow, faint beats. "Do either of you know how this happened?"

G answered, knowing that Reborn was too out of it. "His parents abuse him constantly. And we were all out for a few days and he was left, alone with them. I'm not completely sure what happened but, when we found him, he was locked in the basement. They most likely haven't been feeding him well, and have probably been beating him constantly while we weren't there."

"Do you have any proof that his parents were the ones to do this, because they were denying knowing anything about his condition."

"Then they're both fucking liars," G snapped. "Tsuna confessed on two occasions that his mother was the one to stab him in the side. If you look at the hand prints, that I'm positive are all over his side and stomach right now, they would match either one or both of his parents. There was a similar case with him when he was about nine. He was nearly suffocated and the prints on his neck matched his father's, but everyone brushed it off as a coincidence and left it at that, not bothering to look into it more."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because I asked around when I found out he was being abused. And I know Hibari Kyouya, who funds your hospital. So unless you want to be put out of business, don't you even think of trying to blame me or him," G pointed to Reborn who was still staring blankly at Tsuna's still form, "for doing this. And I'm sure Hibari has some proof to what I'm saying as well."

The doctor nodded immediately, not wanting to chance putting the entire hospital out of business and getting blamed for it after and probably never being able to get a job again. "R-right. Well, he'll be in observation for the rest of the day. And if we don't find anything wrong he should be able to leave by later tomorrow morning." G nodded, leaning back in exhaustion. He was really hoping things wouldn't get this bad. The rest of the ride to the hospital was quiet except for the engine and the beats of the heart monitor.

* * *

**Translations:**

_**Kami's:**_ God's

_**Koyubi:**_ Pinky

_**Kinpatsu:**_ It actually means blonde hair but I couldn't find a direct translation for blondie unless it was three words long, so I just used this instead so **_Baka-kinpatsu_** would be idiot-blonde hair in direct translation but I use it as idiot-blondie instead.

I know this is soooooooooooooo late! And I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really, extremely sorry! But! I passed my finals, and didn't fail any of my classes. But, according to my mom, my grades weren't high enough at the end of the year so she took away my laptop and games and shut off my wifi on my phone. And I could only call or text when she was around since she didn't want me using my data for internet. I didn't even get a C+ in any of my classes! She's so annoyingly strict when it comes to this stuff.

But I was writing it out it so all I had to do was type it up and fix the typos. It took me all night though since I changed a few things while typing it up, and added some things in too. But I made it super long to, _hopefully_, make up for how long it took. It's over 12 thousand words, two thousand for every week I missed.

So, again. I'm **REALLY EXTREMELY SORRY** for taking so long to update and I hope you all can forgive me for this. I'll try to get back on a normal schedule but my mom is having me go out more often since I apparently spend too much time inside and need to get out more- ok, now I'm just ranting. I'm gonna stop here before I go into all the things that she's making me do because it's 'good for my physical health'.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you liked it! Reviews, even flames, are welcomed! BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! 3 ;D


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you to those that reviewed for the last chapter! **Cielo-Caelum, Blazin'Blue, Arco-Alaude, and thor94. **

I'm gonna start replying to reviews now that it's summer but I'll probably stop once school starts up again. They'll be at the end of the chapter after translations but before my rantings.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

* * *

G stared blankly at the board as he tapped the butt of his pencil on his desk. The teacher mentally sighed. She had heard from the others that G and Giotto had been fighting recently and normally when something was about to happen, either one or both of them would do something annoying that just happened to annoy everyone in class. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. "Ano, G-kun?" she said as she turned.

"Hai, sensei?"

"If you and Giotto-kun plan on arguing, could you tell me before then so you won't have to do it in the middle of class? I don't really want any disruptions today." Both G and Giotto blushed in embarrassment and looked away while the girls in the class giggled.

"H-hai, sensei," G muttered under his breath. She smiled and nodded as she turned back around, writing a few more problems on the board.

G twitched when something hit the side of his head, followed by two more, and another. He glanced down to see small pieces of eraser on his desk and sighed in annoyance. "What?" he whispered, turning to Giotto.

Giotto looked at him in mock confusion before smirking, flicking another piece of eraser at his forehead. G felt a vein throb and sighed, turning back to face the front. Giotto continued his eraser assault until his eraser was all gone. He brought out his big eraser and continued. "What the hell do you want you _baka-kinpatsu_!" G snapped, turning fully to him.

"For you to finally admit that you're being a total jerk you _aho-koyubi_!" Giotto snapped back. The two growled as they glared at each other and Asari sighed behind them, sweatdropping.

"_Maa maa_, you two. No fighting in class, remember? You're disturbing the others." The two glanced at him before huffing and turning away from each other. The teacher sent Asari a thankful smile in return as she instructed the class to do the problems.

"As if he could," G muttered.

"What was that, _aho-koyubi_?"

"You heard me, _baka-kinpatsu._"

"Oh really? Well I bet that I could finish all the problems faster than you."

"Then I bet that I could get them done first and get them all correct. Loser has to admit that he was wrong."

"Then get that apology ready, because there's no way in hell I'm losing to you." Everyone in the class sighed in exasperation as the two raced to finish the problems. Those idiots.

* * *

Natsu sighed as his head rested in the crook of his left arm. They had come back after they had made sure Tsuna's heart was stable. He was worried beyond belief and he couldn't concentrate on anything at all right now. He sighed again, his shoulders slumping. He would rather be at the hospital right now instead of here so he would be there if something happened. "Natsu," he looked up when Yamamoto said his name, "maybe you should just go. Everyone else is worried about you."

"Oh yeah? Well I bet none of them are worried about Tsuna even though they should be."

"I know but, really Natsu. You don't look too good so maybe you should just check on him. To ease your worries."

"But what if he's awake? I don't think I could face him right now. What if… What if he hates me for all I haven't done for him? Or he's mad that I left, knowing that, that could happen? What if he doesn't even want to see me again and I'll only make him feel worse by showing my face. What if-"

"Natsu." Natsu snapped out of his ranting and looked around, seeing the worried eyes of his classmates and teacher on him.

"S-sorry," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

Everyone looked up when the PA system clicked on. "Sawada Natsu, Sawada Ieyasu, Yamamoto Asari, Yamamoto Takeshi, and G. Please report to the disciplinary committee office. Hibari Kyouya would like to have a word with you."

There was a shuffle before Hibari spoke, "You herbivores better be in here in two minutes or less or you'll all be bitten to death," he threatened. The PA clicked off and all five were out of their classrooms before anyone could blink, G and Giotto racing the entire way while Asari trailed behind them, Natsu and Yamamoto meeting up with them in the hallway as they rushed to the room.

* * *

"Would one of you care to explain this?" Hibari asked as he held up a sheet of paper. G took the sheet and scanned over the content.

"Oh...How did you get this?" he asked, handing the sheet back.

"Apparently, you mentioned my name so they immediately thought that I was partially responsible for him. And you told them that I most likely have proof of his abuse."

"I don't see the problem. You are partially responsible for him since he goes to your school and lives in Namimori, which is your town. And was hurt here in Namimori, which is your territory."

"Don't be redundant, herbivore. Why wasn't I alerted of this sooner?"

"Well it's not my job to give you every update I have about it," G said with a small frown, running a hand through his hair. Man, he really needed a smoke from all the stress piling up.

"Then make it your job. You also left earlier without alerting the front desk first. I'm guessing that's when it happened?" G nodded while the others just stood there, awkwardly staring at their feet. "Do you know what room he's in?"

"Room B26 on the third floor."

"We're going," Hibari said as he stood

"What? Now?" G asked in surprise.

"Yes, now. Or would you rather stay here and wait for another two hours?" Hibari asked with a glare. G raised his hands in defense as he shook his head. "Then refrain from asking idiotic questions."

"Whatever you say," G replied sarcastically.

Hibari scoffed as he walked out from behind his desk. "I'll have Kusakabe drive us."

* * *

The receptionist squeaked when she looked up, shrinking back under the gaze of Hibari. "Get me the doctor in charge of Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"H-hai, right away, Hibari-san." She picked up the phone and dialed his office number.

"...Takahiro-sensei, Hibari-san would like to speak with you about Sawada Tsunayoshi. Please come to the front..." She hung up and set the phone down, giving Hibari a small smile, "He'll be here in a moment, Hibari-san."

"Hn." Hibari's eyebrow twitched as he heard G and Giotto argue behind him. The twitch increased when the two grew louder and he held back a sigh as he turned around. "_Urusai,_" Hibari turned to them, "_Damare_." The two quieted almost immediately, stepping away from each other to avoid further conflict.

"Ah, Hibari-san." Hibari turned again as Takahiro-sensei walked up to them, "You wished to speak about Sawada-kun?"

Hibari gave a curt nod, "What is his full condition?"

"Ah, well. He's been completely exhausted and has many cuts and bruises and swells, mostly on his back, chest and stomach. He's also malnourished and cannot intake normally so we're supplying him by drip. The wound on his side had been bothered repeatedly but we were able to prevent a chance of infection. There was a case of internal bleeding caused by a broken rib bone puncturing one of his kidneys. It was a surprise that he hadn't at all seemed like he was in any pain. Like he was...No, nevermind. But that has been taken care of."

"Anything else?" G asked.

"Well…It seems he's been traumatized greatly. He isn't responding to anything we say or do. And everytime we mention his parents he begins listing what I'm guessing are rules that they had made him memorize. He won't do anything but say them repeatedly whenever he's awake."

"Tsuna…Is he awake now?" Natsu asked, taking a step forward.

"Yes but-"

"Can we see him? Are we allowed to see him?"

"Yes but he's-" Natsu had already started running towards Tsuna's room with G right behind him. The doctor sighed and shook his head. "Really. If you would, please follow me." The remaining four nodded and followed behind him as he walked.

* * *

Natsu slowed to a stop in front of Tsuna's door. He took a deep breath as he grabbed the handle and turned it, slowly pushing open the door. "Tsuna-"

"Rule seven, must not let brothers know or they...they will be subjected to equivalent punishments." Natsu nearly crumpled to the floor. G caught his arm before he could fall and pulled him back up, motioning him over to the chair to the right of Tsuna's hospital bed. He sat down with a small sigh as he listened to Tsuna list off the rest of the rules, tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn't believe this. All of this was just… And Tsuna had been going through since...since when? He didn't even know. But it had been going at least before they were seven and he just…

He let out a shaky breath as he gently grabbed Tsuna's hand, playing with his fingers. "Nee, Tsuna… Remember when we were six and we had asked mom to, take us to the park? You were playing in the sandbox when three bullies had come over and started teasing you. The first thing you did was run over to me. I was, um, really happy when you did that, you know. Because it meant that...that you trusted me. And you even told me that I was 'the best twin ever', after I chased them away. Tsuna...What happened? We were always so happy together before. We used to talk and play almost all the time then. When...When did you stop calling me Natsu-nii? When, did you get so far away?"

Tsuna's dulled eyes stared blankly at the ceiling as he continued to mumble the rules under his breath. He slowly turned his head to Natsu before turning back, his fingers slowly curling around his brother's. Natsu smiled sadly, squeezing Tsuna's fingers slightly. "I'm sorry, Tsuna. For being a bad twin. Say...When you get out, we'll go to the park, just like we used. And play on the swings, like you always wanted. And we'll...we'll have fun. Nee?" Natsu sniffed as he wiped away his tears with his free hand. He would make it up. He would make all of it up. He promised.

* * *

"A-are you sure he's stable enough to leave?" Natsu asked, wringing his hands worriedly. It had been a week since Tsuna had been admitted to the hospital. It had taken longer that expected for his broken rib and kidney to heal enough to move around because of how malnourished he was, and they had to take many precautions to prevent him from getting sick since his immune system was basically stumped.

"Tsunayoshi-kun is stable enough, yes. As long as he doesn't move around too much or strain himself, he should be fine. Though, he'll need someone with him at all times, incase he has a breakdown and begins hyperventilating. If his heartbeat increases to a certain point, his body wouldn't be able to take it and he could go into cardiac arrest."

"O-ok. B-but, are you sure? I mean-"

"It's fine, Natsu-kun. But, you'll have to watch what you say around him because the smallest things could set him into a relapse."

"N-no offense but, how would you know this?"

"I was a psychologist/therapist before I became a doctor so I know how traumatized patients work. Anyway, He'll be released later tonight and he should be well enough to go to school tomorrow. But really, please do watch what you say. And keep the talking to a minimum. Try not to yell at him, startle him, or scar him or he could react violently. And any physical harm would cause him to mentally shut down."

"This information really isn't helping to convince me that he's well enough to be released."

"Yes but this is as long as we can hold him for the time being, unless someone pays the hospital bills."

"What do you mean?"

"Your father refuses to pay the hospital fees so this is as long as we can keep him here without going over our unpaid budget (pretend that exists)."

"I'll pay the herbivore's bills." Natsu and the doctor turned at the voice, the former raising a brow at the previous statement. "I've paid them before so it wouldn't be a problem."

"If, Hibari-san says so."

"You've paid his hospital bills before?"

"Of course," Hibari scoffed, "You're parents obviously wouldn't and with the amount of times he's come in, it'd been impossible to not have some kind of payment."

"Then how come you haven't said anything about it before?"

"You never asked." Natsu held back from facepalming at the un-Hibari like and more than childish sounding response from the prefect. "Anyway. You need to get back to school, your idiot brother is worried."

"About who?"

"You." This time Natsu did facepalm. He had a sudden dislike for his older brother once he noticed how much he really didn't care about his twin, much more than he originally thought. "Now go before I bite you to death." Natsu squeaked when Hibari flashed his tonfas, grabbing his bag and running out of the room.

Hibari turned back to the doctor who winced under his gaze. "I'll transfer the payments later. Now leave."

"Hai, Hibari-san." The doctor wasted no time in getting out. Hibari sighed softly as he sat down in the chair next to Tsuna's bed, resting his hand on top of his. He was worrying incessantly and he knew exactly why, after having some time to think about it. Though he supposed he couldn't tell him now that he was like this. He would have to wait until he was better, at least enough that he could completely register what was being said to him.

He didn't understand how these feelings came to be, but he accepted them easily. No denial since it was pointless to reject the obvious. He was infatuated, with Tsuna. And he planned on getting Tsuna to like him back. After he was well, of course. But it wouldn't hurt to start early. He smirked. It shouldn't be hard as long as no one got in his way.

* * *

_**Translations**_:

_**Maa** **maa**_: According to google translate, it means 'tolerably', but I'm going to use it as 'now now' since that's what they translate it to in the anime.

_**Baka-kinpatsu**_: Idiot-blondie

**_Aho-koyubi:_** Stupid-pinky

**_Urusai_**: Noisy

**Damare**: Shut up

**Cielo-Caelum**: The other guardians, both 10th and 1st will be appearing later on in the story. And my friend was asking for an overprotective Mukuro too since she's a total 6927 fan, but I'm not too sure about Daemon. If it doesn't change the original plot later on, then I'll probably make him overprotective too.

**Blazin'Blue:** You really think so? We'll thank you! I hadn't known how this was going to work out in the beginning so I'm glad so many people like it. I'll try to keep my updates on schedule as much as possible.

**Arco-Alaude:** Thanks for the encouragement and reassurance. But sometimes she goes a little overboard with it. And yes, I plan to make those two grow closer as the story goes on but they may not be as close as you wanted.

**thor94:** I'm not sure what exactly should happen to them, whether it should be fully convicted or just house arrest. Of course, Reborn will give Iemitsu a beating first. But, you know. Still deciding.

Thank you to all those that have continued to read this story up till now and I hope you'll stay for all the chapters to come. I've been really sucky at keeping schedule but I really will try to keep it up this time, I promise. Thank you to all of those that have followed and favorited, I'm glad you like it. Um, well, that's all. Thanks again for reading. BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;D


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you to the following reviewers! **thor94, Cielo-Caelum, blichigo, Hime-chan Natsumi, lovleydragonfly, and AnimeLover (Guest).**

* * *

****Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.****

* * *

Natsu forced a smile as he stepped inside, his mother being the first to greet him. "Welcome home, Na-kun."

"I'm home, mom. Where's Gio?" he asked, avoiding eye contact with her. He really didn't want to speak to her at all after finding out.

"Gio-kun is in his room. Ah, what would you like me to make for dinner tonight?" she asked with a small smile.

"I prefer Tsuna's cooking so I'll just have some ramen, thank you. I'll be talking to Gio if you need me." Natsu didn't wait for his mother to respond as he made his way upstairs, completely forgetting to take his shoes off. Nana stood frozen in the hall, tightly gripping the spatula she held. Her Tsu-kun was going to hear it when he got back.

Natsu sighed as he stepped into Giotto's room, closing the door behind him. "Gio, the doctor said Tsuna is well enough to be checked out tonight, and he'd be able to go to school tomorrow." He pulled his shoes off as he set his bag down on the ground by the door.

"Yeah, cool. Whatever." he answered apathetically.

"Gio, you should be happy. Tsuna's finally getting out." Natsu couldn't understand how his brother could just brush it off like it was nothing.

"Why should I? Sure he's getting out of the hospital but he's still mentally unstable so there's really no point in letting him out if he can't function properly."

"How could you say that? He's our brother! You can't just-"

"Enough, Natsu! Tsuna's not gonna come back from this, that's obvious! So what's the point of acting like everything is going to be ok, when you know it's not."

"You don't know that! He could get better! It'll just take some time, it's not as if it's impossible, Gio."

"Natsu, just give up. He's going to stay that way, and there's nothing we can do about. Face reality! Tsuna's gone. And he's not coming back, no matter what we try to do to help."

"So would you give up on me if I was in his position?" Natsu asked, hands on his hips. He couldn't believe what his brother was saying right now. "Would you really just abandon all hope without even trying to see if I could get better?"

"No. But Tsuna isn't you, Natsu."

"And what's your point? He's still our brother, Gio. You should care for him as much as you care for me."

"...But I don't, Natsu. I really don't."

"Why not?!"

"Because-!...Because he's not like a brother to me. He never has been. We're not even close enough to be considered family at all, Natsu. And neither are you so I don't see why you're trying so hard."

"Gio… His seventh rule said he mustn't let us know or _we _will be subjected to equivalent punishments."

"That's...That's a lie! Mom or dad wouldn't do that to us!"

"They'd do it to him so why wouldn't they?!"

"Because Tsuna doesn't deserve-!" Giotto slapped a hand over his mouth before he could finish his sentence, turning away from Natsu. What was he just about to say? Tsuna didn't deserve...what? What did he think Tsuna didn't deserve? He didn't...He didn't know. But he has a feeling that if he had continued that sentence, he would regret it greatly. He took a deep breath as he sat up, still facing away from his brother. "Natsu, just drop it, alright? Just...stop."

"What...were you about to say?"

"Natsu-"

"No! Tell me! What were you about to say? What doesn't Tsuna deserve?!"

"Yeah, Gio. What doesn't Tsuna deserve?" G asked as he opened the door, standing in the doorway.

"Just-! Just, go away. Leave me alone."

"I thought I had been right to put my faith in you Giotto. But it turns out I was wrong. You're no better than those parents you care so much about. Me and Reborn are going to pick Tsuna up later. Why don't you take that time to figure out whose side you're on, huh?" G left before he could say anything with Natsu following right behind him, closing the door as he walked out. He sighed loudly as he rested his head in his hands.

What was wrong with him? He didn't mean to say that. He really didn't. He had no idea where it came from or why it came out and he...Giotto groaned in frustration. What was he doing? He was only making everything worse between he and Tsuna. And now he was ruining things between him and Natsu. He...He really was acting like his parents, wasn't he? He sighed again. Maybe he really should think this through. Just…just until he was sure nothing else could be done.

* * *

The two stared at each other blankly before putting on their best glares, trying to get the other to back down. G stood in the doorway with Natsu behind him, watching them, waiting for either to do something. When neither made a move he sighed and stepped into the room, pulling Natsu in with him. "While you two continue to have your little glare down, me and Natsu are going to bring Tsuna to the car. Hurry up, ok?" G walked past them and over to Tsuna, who was sitting up on the bed, staring into space.

Natsu smiled softly as he grabbed Tsuna's hand. "Come on, Tsuna. We're gonna go home. Ok?" Tsuna stayed motionless for a moment before nodding slowly, slightly gripping Natsu's hand as he stood. "And, Tsuna? I don't want you talking to mom or dad unless one of us is with you alright?" Tsuna nodded again and Natsu's smile brightened when he felt Tsuna gently squeeze his hand.

He calmly led Tsuna out of the room, G following behind them with a glance at the two that were still staring at each other. He stopped at the door and sighed. "Look. Reborn, Hibari. Tsuna is leaving, right now. Out the door. Right now. Leaving. Are you two going to continue visually raping each other or are you going to leave too?" G barely dodged the tonfa that was aimed at his head a second later.

Hibari clicked his tongue before walking out of the room, his jacket fluttering behind him causing a dramatic effect. Natsu raised and eyebrow. How was it doing that with no wind? He shook his head, deciding not to question it. He probably wouldn't be able to come up with an answer anyway. He gently tugged on Tsuna's hand, making sure to keep at a slow pace since Tsuna wasn't awake enough and he might stumble and fall.

G was whispering to Reborn behind them but he didn't pay any mind. If they didn't want him to know then that was fine. It might've been something that would've set Tsuna off anyway and he didn't want to take any chances. He looked to his side when Tsuna paused to see him staring at a room. "Um, Tsuna? Something wrong?" He frowned when Tsuna didn't answer and instead walked towards the door. He walked with Tsuna, not letting go of his hand.

Tsuna knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for an answer. Natsu glanced at the room number, A96, before turning his gaze to the girl sitting on the bed. She looked weak and frail with pale white skin and one, visible dull, purple eye, the other hidden by her hair which was a shade lighter than her eye, reaching down to her mid-back. The girl looked up at them with slightly widened eyes. She stared at him for a moment before switching her gaze to Tsuna and smiling shyly. "Hello, Tsuna-san," she mumbled quietly, "Um...who?"

"Oh, right. Um. I'm Natsuyama, but you can call me Natsu. I'm Tsuna's older twin brother."

"O-oh. I-I'm Na-...I'm Dokuro Chrome, but you can call me Chrome. N-nice to meet you, Natsu-san." Chrome bowed her head slightly.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. But, how do you know Tsuna?" Natsu didn't question it when Tsuna pulled him over to the bench at the side of the room, the two of them sitting down.

"I-I've known Tsuna-san for a while, now. He, um, always visited me whenever he came to get his wounds treated. He, um...He helped me, the first few days I was here. And since then, we've always talked whenever he came in."

"Oh. Ok. So...why are you here?"

"I need an organ transplant, and I'm on the waiting list. I have a friend that's going to pay the bill soon for the transplant, so I should be out soon."

"Right...So, um...How long have you known Tsuna?"

"Um...A couple weeks, now. A-ano, if you don't mind me asking. Wh-what exactly is wrong with Tsuna-san?" She looked over at said person, slightly unnerved by the dead look that replaced the normal shine.

"Tsuna...Tsuna's been traumatized, by our parents. So he's a little, out of it right now. Ah, we better go. We're supposed to be on our way home right now. It was nice meeting you, Chrome-chan."

"Y-you too, Natsu-san. G-goodbye, Tsuna-san." Tsuna and Natsu stood, Tsuna walking over to the side of Chrome's bed. He pat her head twice, Chrome blushing at the action as she nodded. "I won't worry too much, Tsuna-san." Tsuna nodded and she waved as they walked out, the blush still on her face as she smiled.

* * *

The first person they saw as they stepped into the house was their father who had bruises all over his face, discoloured in many places. Of course, Natsu only ignored him as he led Tsuna upstairs to his room which had been finished during Tsuna's time at the hospital. "Natsu." He paused and turned. "Is that anyway to greet your father after you get home?" Iemitsu asked in disappointment.

"Tell me that when you start treating Tsuna as your son," Natsu spat out before turning, slamming the door behind him.

"Nee, Tsuna?" Tsuna looked up at him as he sat on the bed. He smiled softly and ruffled his twin's hair. "We'll go to the park after school tomorrow. Ok? But for now you should get some rest. I can tell you're still tired." Tsuna nodded as his brother laid him down, pulling the covers up to his neck.

"Natsu-nii," Natsu's eye widened at the way his brother addressed him and the bright smile he was given, "_Boku anata ga daisuki _." Natsu blushed at the soft spoken words that came from his brother's mouth.

"Tsuna…" Natsu leaned forward and pulled his brother into a hug, "I love you too, Tsuna." The two stayed like that for a minute as Natsu calmed himself down. He didn't want to start crying right now because he knew, even with the way Tsuna was right now, he would still be worried. He sniffled as he pulled back, laying Tsuna back down on the bed.

"Night, Tsuna. I'll come wake you in the morning for school." Tsuna nodded, the smile now gone. Natsu ruffled his hair once more before walking out, softly shutting the door behind him. He sighed quietly to himself as he made his way down the stairs. Now he had to talk to his older brother.

* * *

"So, Gio? Have you made up your mind yet?" Natsu asked, sitting on the couch across from him. When Giotto failed to answer he rolled his eyes. "So how about I ask you this way. Do you agree that Tsuna should've never been born and that he should be abused continuously _because _he was born? Or, do you think that Tsuna shouldn't go through such things anymore or ever again and that his life actually means something, something equal to yours and mine?"

The two stared wordlessly at each other for a moment before Giotto sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't think Tsunayoshi should go through those things ever again."

"You say it like you're forcing yourself."

"I'm not forcing yourself."

"Then why do you sound like you are?" Giotto stayed silent as he looked anywhere but his brother's eyes. "Gio, did you ever love Tsuna at all?"

"I...honestly don't know. I don't-I don't hate him. I've never hated him before. But I just don't really...love him, like I probably should."

"So, you've never felt bad that you let Tsuna get bullied for all his life and never did anything about until it was too late?"

"Well, of course I've felt bad for that." Why wouldn't he? It was only natural, right? To feel bad when you couldn't help somebody when they needed it.

"Then, how did you feel when you found out that mom and dad were abusing Tsuna? Did you feel bad about that?" He really hoped his brother would get what exactly he was trying to say, or this would take more than he thought.

"Yes." Giotto held back from sighing. He had a pretty good idea of where Natsu was going with this.

"Ok, I'll tell you one more thing. The day me and dad were yelling each other and he came to talk to me, he told me that Tsuna was a mistake, and that he was never supposed to be born. He told me that Tsuna ruined everything that they had planned and that he -not mom, him- he wanted to give Tsuna away. But mom wanted to keep him. And I remember when mom used to treat us both equally, and it was only ever dad that was rude to Tsuna. I remember that. Dad _told _me, that it would've been better to leave Tsuna in an orphanage, because he would've died off quicker. Do you feel bad because of what I just said?"

"Of course I do! No dad should ever say something like that about their kid! What-"

"Can you sincerely tell me that you don't agree with dad's opinion?" Natsu didn't let his brother finish his sentence, knowing he would get off topic.

Giotto paused for a moment before nodding. "I really don't agree with dad's opinion. No one should ever think about their child that way."

"Have you ever loved Tsuna before?" he asked again, mentally pleading that his brother would give a better answer this time. He didn't want to think that the older brother he had always relied on had never even thought of his younger twin as family before, never even loved him at all before.

"...Yes. A really long time ago. When we were still kids. Now, I don't love him like I used to, but I do still care for him."

"Could you learn to love Tsuna like you used to? Because, really Gio, the reason why he's like this is the first place was because of the lack of love he was shown. It might help him get better."

"I'll...try? I guess. I mean, we have basically no bond whatsoever so I doubt it's gonna do much good-"

"That's why it won't work. Because you're so pessimistic about it. If you really tried, I'm sure something good will happen between you two. Please, Gio. I don't want him to stay like this."

"Ok, Natsu. I'll try. But you really shouldn't expect much-"

"Gio."

"...Alright."

"Good. And, Gio."

"Hm?"

"Tsuna...Tsuna told me he loved me, when I was putting him to bed. And he smiled at me too, Gio. Like, actually smiled. It was like, the first time in forever kind of smile too. One that I hadn't seen in ages." Giotto's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Tsuna genuinely smile, "And I was...so happy. Gio, when he gets better, you have to tell him you love him too. Because I know for a fact that he loves you. Or he wouldn't have put up with all of that in secret, just so we wouldn't get hurt."

"Natsu…"

"A-anyway," Natsu changed the subject, "I'm gonna take a shower then go to bed. I have to wake up Tsuna tomorrow and help him get ready. Night, Gio."

"Night, Natsu."

* * *

"Reborn, we need to talk." Reborn continued to ignore him as he made his way to the guest room. "Reborn-"

"Don't fucking touch me, Iemitsu. You're a disgusting human being and once Tsuna is stable enough, I'm taking you and that bitch to court and getting your asses sentenced. If you touch him before then, I swear to God I will rip you to shreds and feed your intestines to the pigs then shove your heart down your wife's throat and watch as she chokes and dies on it. I will make sure that both of you are begging for mercy right before I do it too, just so you know how Tsuna must've felt all these years that you've tortured him continuously. And you know goddamn fucking well, that I will do it too."

Iemitsu stared at Reborn in shock, his skin paling at the threat as the images flashed through his mind. Nana, who was in the kitchen and had heard, felt a cold shudder run up her spine at threat, knowing full well that he wouldn't hesitate to do it. They both knew, that if they ever touched Tsuna again, they wouldn't even ave anytime to think about what exactly they had done.

* * *

**Translations:**

_**Boku anata ga daisuki : **_I love you

* * *

**thor94:** Hibari _is _really kind to him. But he'll probably show his kindness when others aren't around. And I really. really love how you comment on every chapter. Thank you so much.

**Cielo-Caelum:** *takes fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies and orange juice* Thank you! Well, for Hibari. It's like a competition against Reborn, for Tsuna's affection when he snaps out of it. And Giotto… He'll change, eventually. Maybe. And Reborn was beating the crap out of Iemitsu, as implied in this chapter by Iemitsu's bruised up face. For the flashbacks. I plan to put a lot in further on since I won't have Tsuna just tell everyone how it started. That's pretty boring right? So yeah, more flashbacks. I'm not sure about doing a flashback for how they met, or not. Still deciding on that one. And thanks for all the compliments. A real boost in my confidence.

**blichigo:** Thanks so much for the praise! I always enjoy reading first time commenters.

**Hime-chan Natsumi:** My spanish is a little bad and I don't trust google translate all that much. So I'm guessing that it's 'I hope Giotto's suffers for not wanting Tsuna *insert evil laugh*' and 'At least Natsu is trying.' I hope I'm right. But, yeah. Giotto will begin his mental suffering very soon. And Natsu, like he said, is going to be trying a lot harder now to make things better between him and Tsuna.

**lovleydragonfly: **Enma will definitely show up, the other Arcobaleno too. But I'm not too sure Byakuran and the Varia. Shoichi will be in there and Spanner will be mentioned (most probably frequently) but he might not actually be there _with _them. I might change that though.

**AnimeLover: **I thought that Urusai meant shut up as well but it turns out that it only means noisy. But there might be an alternate spelling of it that might mean shut up so, I don't know.

* * *

So, here's the 'ninth' chapter. And the next one is the 'tenth', which is where Gokudera will _finally_ come back in. I don't really have that much to say so I'm just going to end it here, I guess. Thank you for reading and I'm soooo glad that you've all made it possible for me to reach over 200 follows and over 160 favs! Thank you so very much! I hope you liked this chapter! BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;D


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you to the following reviewers! **NatRipper, TsnuaMoe, thor94, Arco-Alaude, lovelydragonfly, and AnimeLover**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

* * *

Natsu stared blearily at his alarm clock, yawning as he scratched the back of his head. Ah, well. Time to get up and take care of Tsuna. He slowly got out of bed and turned off his alarm, dragging his feet as he made his way to Tsuna's room, gently opening the door. "Tsuna, it's time to-" His eyes widened when he saw the empty bed and turned when he heard a sound coming from downstairs. He ran down the stairs in slight panic and into the kitchen where the noise is coming from.

He facepalmed for worrying. Tsuna was setting two plates down on the table, one for himself, and the other he guessed, was for him. "Morning, Tsuna." Tsuna only nodded his head as he sat down. "Guess you can still wake up this early, huh? Thanks for breakfast." Tsuna nodded again as he started eating.

Natsu felt a little awkward as he sat down since this was the first time he had eaten breakfast with Tsuna since they were kids. Tsuna had never been one to talk but it was worse since they were the two eating at the moment. He wanted to say something to get rid of the silence but he knew Tsuna wouldn't answer, so there'd really be no point since the conversation wouldn't hold. Why did everything have to feel so awkward? It was just his brother, his _twin _even! There shouldn't be anything awkward about eating breakfast alone with your twin!

Even if that twin was slightly unresponsive and only did what others told him without question like some kind of lifeless doll- Ok, getting off topic. But, at least Tsuna was responding a little, or it'd be a lot worse than it is now. Else he'd be hard-pressed to believe that Tsuna really wouldn't be able to get better. But it's not like that. And there's a chance. Of course, there's always a chance. There had to be.

Because, he turned to look at his twin, he wouldn't give up, even if those in his family said it was useless. It's only useless if you don't try. He's learned that from basketball and baseball well enough. And… He really did still love his twin after all this time, even with what happened. And he planned on getting him back to his old self, no matter how long it would take.

* * *

Natsu gave a small huff as he stepped into the classroom, pulling Tsuna in with him. He wasn't used to waking up this early, even for club warm-ups and meetings. How did his brother do this almost everyday? He raised an eyebrow at the three in the back of the classroom, immediately recognizing them as three of Tsuna's bullies by the way they were looking at his twin. He ignored them as he led Tsuna over to his chair and set his bag on his desk before sitting down himself, his bag leaning against his foot.

He sighed as he laid his arms on his desk, his forehead resting on them. He planned on getting some sleep once he got here but he couldn't do that now. He was a pretty heavy sleeper and only loud noises could wake him up and he didn't trust the three in the back not to do anything while he was asleep. He lifted his head when he felt something touch his shoulder to see Tsuna looking over at him. He smiled softly as he laid his cheek against his arm, "I'm fine, Tsuna. Don't worry about it." Tsuna nodded, pulling his hand back and resting it in his lap as he turned back to face the front of the class.

Natsu frowned slightly when he noticed Tsuna's head dip to the side a bit. He must still be tired too, he supposed. "Tsuna," Tsuna turned to him, "you can sleep for now. I'll wake you when class starts, ok?" Tsuna stared at him blankly for a moment before giving a small smile as he nodded.

"_Arigatou_," he said softly before turning his head towards the window, using his arms as a pillow as he closed his eyes. His breaths quickly evened out and Natsu internally grinned. Tsuna had spoken to him and smiled at him twice and it hadn't even been a full day since he got out. He definitely had to rub this in G's face at some point later today.

* * *

Natsu glared at the transfer student, who was doing the exact same thing to him. After he had introduced himself -Gokudera Hayato, nothing else- the girls had started firing off questions which he had ignored completely. His eyes had wandered around the classroom until they had landed on his brother and he raised an eyebrow at the way he had brightened up. His eyes then landed on him and his attitude did a complete 180. He had no idea why -of course he didn't, he didn't know the guy!- and he was kinda pissed at the way he was being looked at. So he returned the favor.

"Gokudera-kun," the teacher called, "Your seat will be- G-Gokudera-kun!" the teacher yelled when Gokudera walked off the platform and towards him. Natsu's glare increased when he stopped beside his desk.

"Listen," Natsu held back from rolling his eyes at the forceful tone, "You may be tenth's twin but if you hurt anymore than you already have, I will not hesitate to blow you up. Got it?"

Natsu growled, "I'd like to see you try to shitty delinquent."

"You wanna go you pompous brat?" Gokudera snarled, hands reaching into his pockets.

"Gokudera-kun, your seat is over there!" Gokudera turned and glared at the teacher, who quivered under the gaze, before clicking his tongue and walking over to his seat.

* * *

Natsu blinked when the bell rung, yawning quietly. Finally, homeroom was over. He had slept for half of it and then spaced out for the rest of it, his eyes unconsciously drifting over to Tsuna more than once. He was annoyed by the amount of whispers there were about his brother and his current 'Lifeless' -as they had named it- condition. He couldn't understand why the girls couldn't just shut up and mind their own business.

He glanced to his right when the door opened and nearly fell out of his seat when the principal along with Reborn walked in. The girls squealed and he winced when the man's eyes landed on him.

"Settle down now, girls!" the principal admonished and they quieted almost immediately. Huh, he wondered why none of their teachers could do that during class. Must be the Italian man standing at the front. "This here is Reborn and he will be your new math sensei starting today."

"What happened to Nezu-sensei?" Hana -the smartest girl in class, he knew- asked with a raised eyebrow, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned back in her seat.

"He was involved in a certain predicament which caused him to retire temporarily. So, class, please welcome Reborn-sensei warmly. I'll leave so you can begin class. Treat him well!" The principal left with door sliding close behind him, his movements seeming hurried and wary. Natsu creased his brow. Was he afraid of something or what?

"Do you have any questions?" Reborn asked as he set his binder down, standing behind the podium. Natsu's hand was the first up. "What?" Of course he would answer like that to him.

"What are you doing here?" Natsu asked, glaring at him.

Reborn pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he held back from giving a sarcastic response. _This kid._ "To teach, _Natsuyama_."

"You know what I mean. Why are you _here_, in _this _school, as a _teacher_?"

"Unless you ask a sensible question, I will not answer. Now, let's begin class, shall we?" Natsu twitched at the smirk he was given, stopping himself from banging his head against the desk in annoyance and frustration. _This man._

* * *

Natsu sighed in relief when the bull for lunch rung, standing up after pulling out his bento. Turns out his _mother, _actually forgot to make lunch for them, so Tsuna had made them this morning. Of course, he didn't have time to tell his brother about this and subtly mention that he should be thankful that Tsuna was going through all that trouble for him even in his current state. But he would once he saw him.

"Tsuna." Tsuna turned to look at him before nodding and standing up, pulling out his own bento. "We're gonna go eat on the roof, ok?" Tsuna nodded again as Natsu took his hand and pulled him along. They made it to the door just as Reborn walked up, blocking their path. "What do you want, old man?" Natsu asked as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm taking Tsuna with me to have lunch," Reborn said as he grabbed Tsuna's other arm, giving it a gentle tug. Tsuna stepped forward and was about to follow behind Reborn when Natsu pulled on his hand, not letting him go.

"No, you're not. Tsuna's having lunch with me."

"Listen here you little _gaki_-"

"You got something to say you _ero-roujin_-"

"Both of you be quiet. You're causing a disturbance," Hibari growled as he walked up to them. He nodded to Tsuna who nodded back before turning around, Natsu walking back into the bathroom with him. He pulled out a second bento then walked back over to the door, holding it out to Hibari. Everyone, but Reborn, Natsu, and Hibari, stared at him in shock. Their eyes widened even more when Hibari actually took it and reached forward, ruffling his hair. "Tsunayoshi will be eating with me."

Before either could respond, Hibari had pulled Tsuna out of Natsu's and Reborn's grips and made his way down the hallway with him much to the others' surprise and annoyance, respectively. He smirked when he saw Reborn's expressed, subtly pulling Tsuna closer. His eyebrow twitched in displeasure when he saw that everyone was staring at them. He glared as he flashed a single tonfa, everyone immediately clearing out of the hallway at the pure killing intent leaking out of him. Tsuna stayed indifferent to it all.

* * *

Hibari stared down at his paperwork in annoyance as he ate his lunch, Tsuna sitting on the three-seater couch as he ate his. He was contemplating on what exactly he should do to with the herbivore over. He didn't know -a real blow to his pride- how to go about this since he had never been..._in love_...before. In truth he's never even liked someone, let alone loved someone before. So, to be in love was a large jump, even if he hated to admit it. He really didn't know what to do about any of this, and any advice from the internet, was complete cliche bull and he didn't have time to waste on that.

His eyebrow twitched. He could feel him staring and he wasn't sure if he should look up or not to ask if something was wrong since he knew the herbivore wouldn't actually say anything. He sighed softly. He'll go with the former. "Yes?" he asked as he lifted his head, his eyes meeting Tsuna's. He raised an eyebrow at the flash of gold but brushed it off as the shine from the light coming through the window.

Hibari's eyes widened a fraction when Tsuna set his half eaten bento down and turned completely to him, his eyes lightening up to somewhat of their original colour. Tsuna spoke in a soft voice, the one word he said floating through the air then fading into nothing only a second later, "Smile."

_**Ba-bump**_

Hibari felt his cheeks dust a soft pink as he stared at Tsuna in astonishment. Was he really so distracted that he allowed himself to show so easily? Or maybe...He let out a short, soft laugh. Tsuna's eyes had died back down to their dulled state before and he was now continuing on eating his lunch, as if he hadn't done a single thing. Sawada Tsunayoshi...The only person on Earth that always managed to surprised him. He'd have to try harder now.

* * *

Natsu _would _have kicked the door in if Yamamoto hadn't pulled him back, his hands holding on firmly to Natsu's shoulders. "I really don't think that's a good idea. And what if it surprises Tsuna? He might hurt himself on accident in shock."

Natsu clicked his tongue in annoyance as he nodded, opening the door normally. He walked in without a word, gently taking Tsuna's hand and pulling him, "I'll be taking my brother now, thank you." Hibari growled while Natsu glared, Yamamoto giving a nervous laugh as he looked at the two of them.

"N-Natsu, we need to go. Class is about to start, remember?" he reminded, resting his hand on his shoulder.

"Fine. Whatever." Natsu picked up Tsuna's bento then walked out, pulling him with him as he followed behind Yamamoto, muttering to himself about 'stupid prefects' and 'taking advantage of situations'. "Che."

"Natsu, you should really calm down. Before you do something stupid, that could possibly get you hurt."

"But I wouldn't-"

"Or might get Tsuna hurt."

Natsu pouted up at his boyfriend, "Stop using my brother against me. It's totally not fair."

Yamamoto smiled with a short laugh, "Well, it works doesn't it? But seriously. Don't try to pick a fight with Hibari because, unlike Reborn, he probably doesn't care if Tsuna might get upset with you getting hurt. He won't hesitate and you know that. So just, calm down. Kay?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"But hey. When do you want to tell everyone?"

"Tell everyone what?"

"That we're dating and have been for a while. I'm sure the fangirls will like it."

"That's what I'm afraid...of." Natsu's eyes widened as he turned to look at Tsuna who was staring up at him blankly. "U-um...Are you bothered?" he asked. Tsuna shook his head and Natsu gave a small sigh in relief.

"Natsu, you worry too much. This is Tsuna, you know. I highly doubt that you being gay would stop Tsuna from loving you."

"Yeah but…"

"Wait...Don't we have P.E. right now?"

"...We do, don't we?"

"Haha, oh well. We're already late so I don't think it'd matter that much."

"You're too care free about missing classes, Takeshi, really."

"It's fine, it's fine." Natsu rolled his eyes when Yamamoto only laughed as they changed direction, making their way to the changing rooms.

* * *

"Now that everyone's here-"

"You have _got _to be kidding me! You're already our math teacher, why are you subbing for gym?!"

"Relax, _gaki_," Natsu growled at the impolite nickname, "It's only for this period. Anyway, I'll say it again because I can see that some people had not been present for math earlier. I'm Reborn and I'll be in place of Nezu who had taken a temporary leave. Your usual gym teacher had some urgent business to attend to and since I was free, they had me sub for him."

"Are you sure you didn't tie him up and hide him, claiming that he had alerted you beforehand and you were willing to take the part?" Natsu asked sarcastically with a small smirk.

"Would you like it if I did that to you?"

"Go ahead and try it, you-"

"**Natsu**." Natsu huffed as he rolled his eyes, walking Tsuna over to the fence and having him sit down.

"Tsuna, you stay here ok? No matter what anyone says, you stay right here. Especially if it's one or more of your bullies. Got it?" Tsuna nodded as he pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs. Natsu smiled as he ruffled his twin's hair before straightening up and walking back over to the class. Tsuna nodded when Reborn looked over at him and got a nod in return.

Tsuna leaned back against the fence and closed his eyes. He was tired, really tired. Which was strange since he hadn't actually done anything today. Maybe, it was just mental exhaustion. He sighed softly. He should sleep. Maybe then it would go away, this nagging feeling, and he would feel better. Yeah. That sounded nice.

Tsuna's breaths quickly evened out and Yamamoto glanced over at him since he was closest, giving a small smile at the scene. He still wondered how Natsu had never noticed anything before because now everyone could tell that Natsu was being extremely overprotective of Tsuna. He gave a short, quiet laugh. Sometimes, for someone so smart, Natsu could be really slow. At least things were getting better now.

* * *

**Translations:**

_**Arigatou:**_ Thank you

_**Natsuyama:**_ _Natsu _-I checked- means Summer, and _Yama _-checked also- means Mountain. So his name actually means Summer Mountain if going from English to Japanese, or Mountains in Summer from Japanese to English. I had no idea when I first made the name and I'm kind of happy that it actually means something.

_**Gaki:**_ Brat

_**Ero-roujin:**_ Perverted old man or Erotic old man

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**NatRipper:** Lol, you had the exact same reaction as my cousin when he read the last chapter.

**TsunaMoe:** Thanks for that little tip. I changed it in the last chapter -added 'ga'.

**thor94:** The Ninth...I'm not sure if I'm going to put him in there or not since it's not a complete mafia fic. Like, there's mafia, i.e. Reborn as a hitman, but Iemitsu isn't in the mafia in this one.

**Arco-Alaude:** I got a tiny writer's block at the beginning because I had no idea where exactly to start the chapter. And it seemed a little awkward when I read it over, but I don't know what else to put there. And I can't tell if you mean Iemitsu &amp; Nana or Iemitsu &amp; Natsu so I'm going to mention both. There will be a flashback about Tsuna's mom and what was mentioned about her in the 7th chapter, and plenty of parent bashing in he future (mostly Iemitsu). I hope that answers what you were asking.

**lovelydragonfly:** You're welcome!

**AnimeLover:** Giotto may or may not find his love for Tsuna. He -most likely- won't love him as Natsu will, or maybe not at all. But his attitude towards his youngest brother will change. And as much as I'd like to kill those two fluckers off, I sadly cannot. Why? Not like my friend is going to hide all my chocolate as a threat if I do, or anything. Haha! :)

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I had no idea how to actually end this chapter so I'm sorry if the ending is a little awkward or random...or both. Gokudera's part was small. Really small. And that bugs me. A lot. But hey, this is my tenth chapter and I'm really happy that it's made it this far. And thank you to all of those that have favorited and followed and reviewed up until now, sticking with the story. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thank you all for reading! BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;D


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you to the following reviewers! **AnimeLover, lovelydragonfly, thor94, Cielo-Caelum, Ash the Animatrix, MetalGodlv66, belladu57, roseapplelovesflowers and YamamotoAna. **

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**AnimeLover:** It is relaxing after reading a chapter of a fanfic. And one reason I made Natsu so overprotective is because I just really like overprotective, brother complexive twins. I really do. That's one reason. And it's really cute too, when they're overprotective. And for Giotto… Yeah, he's really slow. But there's a reason for that which will come in later.

**lovelydragonfly:** I was thinking about putting it in the next chapter so you can look for it there.

**thor49:** The reason why Natsu's actions are exaggerated is because the guilt is somewhat eating him up inside so he's trying his hardest, which leads him to try too hard without him realizing. And it's not that Gokudera is playing as his bodyguard it's just that he's slightly protective because of the things he's heard. I kind of explain it in the chapter but if you want more of an explanation, I'll PM you.

**Cielo-Caelum:** No~. Don't follow his examples~! *takes oreo cookies and milk* And it's fine, don't worry about it! And the reason I put A96 was because I've actually read a fanfic with that pairing. It was before I made an account on here so I don't remember it and I haven't been able to find it. Too bad though, it was really good. And Gokudera, I really wanted him to have a bigger entrance. For Iemitsu and Nana. Hm…I said in chapt. 7 that Tsuna's life was much better before Nana started listening to Iemitsu. Iemitsu hated Tsuna from the start but Nana had loved them equally (in her own way) but because of him, her thoughts sort of went astray. I'll do a little part about this in either the next chapter or the one after for those that have the same question because it's a lot to explain in a response and I don't really want to spoil it. Unless you're ok with that, then I can PM you, if you want. But I'll say one thing. She does care. Just not in the way you're thinking. *takes motivational cookies* Totally not a bribe at all! :) (P.S. I really, really, _really _love how long your comments are and the little humor bits in them.)

**Ash the Animatrix**: Thank you for the follows and favs and thanks a lot for the compliment! Reborn really helped Tsuna out a lot when he was younger and he really does love him. And G has been there ever since they first met so he has developed a brotherly love for Tsuna. Giotto...Those two will make up, definitely. Nana and Iemitsu - Just because they see their errors, does not necessarily mean that they'll change their ways. Well, Iemitsu won't. I'm not sure about Nana yet. I love your drawing by the way. Wish I could draw that good. Thank you for reviewing and I hope to see more from you!

**MetalGodlv66:** I do that a lot too for long chapters so you're not alone. And thanks for the reassurance. The story has an ending, I already have that planned out. The way I write is that I plan out the beginning and the end, and just go with the flow for the middle while still keeping a steady track so I'm sorry if it seems like it's taking forever. And I plan on using Chrome to make the guys jealous (maybe). And I loved that little moment but my older cousin was mad that it wasn't more 'badass', as she put it.

**belladu57**: Thank you! :)

**roseapplelovesflowers: **You;re welcome and no prob. Thanks for the compliment!

**YamamotoAna: **Sorry it took so long. A few technical difficulties. But I hope you like this chapter.

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**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters.**

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Tsuna's eyes snapped open when he felt something touch his shoulder and he looked up to see two people towering over him, smirks on their faces. He stared at them blankly before slowly lowering his head, resting his chin on his arms. "Listen, Dame-Tsuna. We've noticed that Natsu's been acting real nice to you today and we were wondering about that. So, you wouldn't mind telling us, would you?" Osamu, one of Tsuna's regular bullies, asked.

Tsuna glanced up at them before letting out a breath, shifting further back into the fence and hugged his knees to his chest. "Hey, are you listening to us?" Ohmae, another one of his regulars, demanded, his tone forceful. Tsuna laid his cheek on his arms as he closed his eyes. He didn't want to deal with this right now. He just wanted to sleep. "Oi, Sawada!" Tsuna flinched when Ohmae grabbed his hair, pulling his head up so he was looking at them.

"Don't ignore us, you useless shit. You must think you're so cool now that your brother isn't ignoring you but guess what? You're not. You're still hated by everyone else and that's not going to change. It's never going to change. You're still the same useless, unwanted, unloved, rejected loser that you were before, and you will always be. You just wait. Soon, he's going to start ignoring you again. And then you're going to be forgotten, just like before." Tsuna had started shaking halfway through the rant, his eyes tearing up as they widened.

The two laughed at his expression, "_Hisou_," Osamu sneered. "You better not be late for our long awaited appointment, Dame-Tsuna. We have a lot of catching up to do." Ohmae raised a fist but was stopped when a hand grabbed his wrist. He turned to glare but shrinked back when he realized it was Natsu and he was releasing an extreme killing intent, glowering down at him.

"And what do you think you're doing to my brother?" Natsu snarled, slowly bending Ohmae's hand back.

"O-oh um, w-we were just talking. Th-that's all. I swear."

"Uh-huh. Right. Would you mind telling me what kind of appointment do you have, exactly?" Natsu rolled his eyes when the two didn't answer. He let go of Ohmae's hand and the two ran off.

He kneeled down in front of Tsuna with a grimace. He wasn't quick enough. "Tsuna, look at me. Tsuna." Tsuna's eyes focused on him and he gave a small smile of reassurance. "Don't listen to them, Tsuna. Whatever they said was a lie, they don't know what they're talking can't believe a word they say. Ok?" He wiped away Tsuna's tears as he nodded, ruffling his hair. "Good. Now come on, class just ended and everyone's heading back inside." Natsu frowned when Tsuna wasn't looking. This would be harder than he thought. If things like that kept happening, Tsuna would relapse by the end of the day. He couldn't let that happen.

* * *

"Sorry, Tsuna. I can't walk you home because I have a club meeting and we're supposed to be going over tactics for the upcoming game so everyone _has _to be there. But don't worry! Gio and G don't have student council today so they'll be the ones to walk you home. Takeshi offered but the couch ended up calling an emergency meeting. They said they'd meet you at the front doors so just wait there, alright?" Tsuna nodded as he hugged his bag to his chest, averting his eyes.

Natsu caught the look and frowned. His brother normally did that when something was bothering him. Turns out that was the only thing he was able to pick up on throughout these years. "Something wrong, Tsuna?" he asked. Tsuna immediately shook his head and Natsu's frown deepened. His twin really needed to stop doing that. "Tsuna, if there is something bothering you, I want you to tell me or it'll only make me worry more. Please?"

"_Boku wa_..._daijoubu_," he said quietly, looking down at his feet.

"Tsuna-"

"Juudaime!" Tsuna and Natsu both jumped slightly at the call and turned to see Gokudera walking up to them with a beaming grin as he kept his eyes lock on Tsuna's small figure. "Hi, Juudaime!" Tsuna nodded his head and Gokudera brightened up even more at the recognition.

"What are you doing here you shitty delinquent?" Natsu asked with a glare.

Gokudera's mood soured and he rolled his eyes as he turned to face Natsu completely as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm here to stay with Juudaime until Pinky and that older brother of yours get here, you pompous brat."

"You-!" Natsu took a deep breath and let out a large sigh. He couldn't get worked up over something as small as this. "Alright, you're staying with Tsuna. That's fine. Just...make sure nothing happens to him. Please." Natsu hated the fact that he was asking this random person to take care of his twin at the moment. But he was related to G, so he guessed he could be trusted until he did something to change his mind. "I don't want anything to happen to him."

"Yeah, sure. I didn't plan on letting anything happen to him anyway." Natsu gave him one last glare before gently squeezing Tsuna's hand and ruffling his hair. Gokudera watched with a raised eyebrow as the boy made his way down the hall and turned a corner. He seemed different from the way his cousin had explained things. But that might be just because he realized his mistakes or something. Though he still found it hard to believe that someone could just change like that. Well, he knew it was possible in some cases. But the way G had talked about him, he didn't seem like one of those people. He shrugged as he leaned against the wall while Tsuna sat down with his knees pulled up to his chest. He shouldn't think about it. Their family is pretty messed up after all.

He pulled out a cigarette and lighter with a sigh. He had wanted to talk to Tsuna the moment they saw each other in school but he guessed that would have to wait. He glanced down at Tsuna as he put the lighter back in his pocket and smiled slightly. He had fallen asleep and it was down right adorable. Of course he'd never say that out loud because G would never stop bothering him about it. He glanced up when he heard footsteps to see two girls walking up to him. Oh great.

"U-um...Gokudera-san, could we talk to you alone for a moment?"

He held back from rolling his eyes. "No, I'm busy."

"With that? All you're doing is standing by Dame-Tsuna."

"Kama (random made up name), stop it. If he doesn't want to talk he doesn't have to."

"Maybe you should listen to your friend and leave me alone. I'm not going with you no matter what you say."

Kama scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Maybe you are just a shitty delinquent, just like Natsu-kun said."

"Maybe I am. But at least I don't torture someone continuously for my own pleasure in seeing their misery. Now please leave. You're being annoying."

"Kama, let's go. We don't want to get him angry."

"Che, disgusting. Maybe the reason you don't want to come talk with us is because you're a loser just like Dame-Tsuna, and that's why you're hanging with him in the first place." Gokudera blew out a puff of smoke right into the girl's face as he gave her a lazy stare. She let out a few coughs as she fanned away the smoke. "Smoking on school grounds isn't allowed, you know. I hope Hibari-san bites you to death. Come on, Shira. He's not worth our time."

"S-sorry for bothering you, Gokudera-san." Gokudera nodded at her and she blushed as she followed behind her friend who gave him a glare before walking off.

Gokudera clicked his teeth in annoyance. That was the fifth confession today and he was starting to get annoyed at how persistent these girls were. He thought Japanese folks were supposed to be reserved but it didn't really seem like it. He glanced down when he felt a tug on his pants to see Tsuna looking up at him with blank eyes. "Something wrong, Juudaime?" Tsuna looked at the cigarette between his fingers then back at him while slowly holding out his hand. He immediately handed it over.

Tsuna took the cancer stick and pressed the tip into the grass, snuffing it out. Gokudera gave a huff, it had been the last one he had on him and he hadn't had the time to buy more. Tsuna looked up at him again and he averting his eyes, guessing at what he wanted. "Um...I'll...try to cut back when I'm around you." Tsuna rested his head on his arm and he sighed slightly in relief. The dead look in Tsuna's was unnerving to him, the complete opposite of what he had seen when they first met. He wished he had gotten more chances to see that light before it got taken away.

He glanced up when he heard another pair of footsteps to see his cousin, Giotto, and 'flute freak' -as his cousin called him- walking over to them. "Brat."

"Pinky," he retorted as he leaned up off the wall, hands back in his pockets.

"Did something happen? I didn't expect you to be here, waiting with him."

He shrugged. "Nothing happened. Besides, I'm walking with you to the store today anyway."

"Right. Ah, he's sleeping." G pulled out his phone to snap a quick pic before turning to Giotto, who had a deadpanned look on his face. "Gio, pick him up."

Giotto raised an eyebrow and Gokudera's eyes narrowed. Why did he look so surprised? "What? Why do I have to?"

"One, he's your brother. Two, I'm not walking home with you. And three, it'd be too much trouble for Asari to switch him too you when he turns to head home."

"But-but-" Giotto tried to counter but Asari interrupted him with a sigh.

"Just pick him up and let's go. Giotto, it's not that hard and he seems really light too. You're only wasting time the more you stall." Giotto turned his head to Asari who was giving him a stern look and sighed.

"Fine," he muttered as he stepped closer, kneeling down in front of Tsuna. He looked at the sleeping face of his youngest brother and blushed lightly. Not even he could deny that he looked pretty adorable. He carefully picked him up bridal style and his eyes widened, "He's basically weightless," he whispered as he started walking.

"Guess whose fault that is," G muttered. "Now, once you get home, you take him straight up to his room. Are your parents going to be home or no?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then don't let them go near his room. I'm serious Primo. If Tsuna relapses, there'll be nothing we can do after that. And make sure to check up on him a lot until either Natsu or Reborn come home. Ok?"

"Why do I need to check up on him?" Giotto asked in annoyance. He wasn't a babysitter and he didn't like the fact that he had to watch over Tsuna like he was some little kid.

"Because if he wakes up, he won't go downstairs, he'll just sit there." G said as if it was obvious.

"What do you mean?"

"What do people normally do when they're unresponsive?"

"Nothing. They just stare into space, mostly."

"Exactly. And Tsuna will do exactly that unless you tell him to do something else. And make sure there aren't any sharp objects in his room either. I'm not sure what he'd do in his current state of mind. And have him make himself something to eat. I don't trust your parents enough for them to feed him without trying to poison him or something."

"Ok. But I really don't think-"

"Locked in the cellar, need I say anymore?" Giotto sighed and shook his head. "Don't forget, alright?"

"I won't, promise." G narrowed his eyes before giving a shrug, waving as he and his cousin walked their separate way.

* * *

"You sure that's safe?" Gokudera asked when they were out of earshot.

"I'm sure. He knows I'd be livid if anything happened to Tsuna, so it's fine. Anyway, did you say anything to him?"

"Told him I wouldn't stand for him hurting him anymore, even if he is his brother. He seemed guilty when he spoke but he was still pretty mad."

"Good, it means he's trying. Anything happen?"

"Gym, two bullies were talking too him. He didn't get there in time."

"Physical or emotional?"

"Emotional, he got there before they threw the first punch. Why am I doing this?"

"Because if you get involved too soon, Gio will stop trying seeing that Tsuna already has someone else. And Natsu will try to get Tsuna's attention away from you, which won't help anything and he'll forget what he's really supposed to be doing."

"What about the baseball idiot?"

G chuckled and shook his head, "Already got a nickname for him, huh? He's trying but he's keeping back because he knows this isn't something that he can't help with."

"So, you saying outside parties can't help in this situation?"

"No. I'm saying that only those Tsuna was close with or really cared for before it happened can do anything right now to help." Gokudera held his head down and clicked his tongue. "Listen, I'm not saying you can't help. I'm just saying that, to get him back to how he was before, those that knew of it then and those that he was secretly protecting would have to be the ones to get involved."

"Secretly protecting? What do you mean?"

"Tsuna has a set of rules that he has to follow. The seventh rule is that if he lets his brothers find out, they will end up getting abused too. So by not letting them know, he was protecting them in his own way. Of course I highly doubt that those two nutjobs would ever hurt either Natsu or Gio. But they had to be careful since it was still risky if one of them found out. Though I think Natsu already had an idea."

"By the amount of info you're giving me, I would think that you were stalking them or something." G shrugged and Gokudera held back from facepalming. "You're not stalking them, are you?"

"No, I just know the right people to ask. And with Tsuna, you have to watch him at all times or he'll end up hurting himself. It was only an accident the first time I saw it happen."

"You saw it?"

"Yeah. It was like a year after I moved here and Gio had told me to go home ahead of him because he had something to pick up, saying his parents already knew that he'd be home later."

* * *

"_You sure you don't want me to walk with you, Primo?"_

"_How many times have I told you to stop calling me that? And it's fine, it's not something I can't carry on my own. And I won't be in any danger while you're gone. You're just too paranoid." G gave a stubborn glare but Giotto only laughed and brushed it off. "Trust me, G. I'll be fine. I'll be there about 20 minutes after you are, ok?"_

"_Well...fine. But if you don't show up by then I'm coming to look for you."_

"_Fair enough, now get going. Oh, and. If you see Tsuna, try and leave him alone alright? He doesn't really like to be bothered all that much."_

_G raised an eyebrow. "Tsuna?"_

_Giotto sighed and rolled his eyes. "Honestly. The smaller one. The least you could do is remember their names, you know."_

G shrugged in response, "_Meh. The other one is Natsu, right?"_

"_For the love of- Yes, the _other one _is Natsu. And try to remember their names this time, alright?"_

"_Not making any promises." Giotto sighed in exasperation as he shook his head and G shrugged. It wasn't his fault he almost never saw the brats. "Anyway, Primo-"_

"_Giotto."_

_G ignored him, "-be careful and don't trust anyone. Everyone could be considered an enemy."_

"_Yes, yes of course, Higaimouzou-san. Now get going." He grumbled under his breath when Giotto motioned to the way home and sighed as he started walking, Giotto going in the opposite direction. That idiot is going to get mauled by his fangirls like the last time he was out by himself..._

_He paused in front of the gate and facepalmed. He forgot to ask if his parents would be home. Well, whatever. He opened the gate and made his way to the front door, raising an eyebrow when heard what sounded like a muffled yelp coming from the inside. Well that couldn't be good. He quietly opened the door -shouldn't it be locked?- and made his way inside. "Disgusting," he heard someone mutter. He peaked into the living room where the voice came from and his eyes widened._

_Tsuna lay on the floor, beaten and bloodied with Iemitsu's foot digging into his back. The man had a look of complete and utter disgust on his face as he stared down at him and Tsuna whimpered when the foot pressed down harder. "Listen, brat. I have work tonight and Nana is at her mother's helping with a few things so neither of us will be home. Giotto will be coming home soon and I want every spot of spit and blood gone before then. If he asks any questions when either of us get back, you know what'll happen." Tsuna gave a weak nod and relaxed slightly when the foot lifted off his back._

_G hurried back outside and closed the door, hiding at the side of this building when he saw Iemitsu step towards the doorway. He waited until he heard the door open and sunk back further, watching as the man walked off. Once he was out of sight and ear shot, G rushed back inside to see Tsuna struggling to get up and released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding._

_Tsuna froze when he heard footsteps walking over to him, flinching when a hand touched his shoulder. "Tsuna, it's me." Tsuna turned his head to see G looking down at him worriedly, eyes going over every bruise he could see and the blood that was on his clothes. Tsuna went rigid and gave a failed attempt at crawling away. "Tsuna, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Just...just let me help."_

_Tsuna sighed in defeat as he relaxed, flinching when G brushed one of his bruised as he picked him up. G carried him into the bathroom and Tsuna pointed to the cabinet when he was asked where the first aid kit was. He winced when G pulled his shirt off and began wiping off the blood with a rag he had wet. There was a small silence before G sighed, running a hand through his hair. "...How long, has this been going on?" he asked suddenly._

_Tsuna stayed quiet for a moment before shrugging. "S-since I was...m-maybe five, or six? It h-hadn't been physical u-until I was, um, s-seven."_

"_Tsuna, it's alright. You don't need to be so tense and, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to know."_

"_...Th-thank you," he said quietly._

_G smiled softly and reached up to ruffle Tsuna's hair. The kid was kinda a cute, if you actually paid attention to him a bit. "No problem. Can you stand?"_

_Tsuna looked unsure for a moment before giving a small nod. "I-I'll be fine...I think. I st-still have to clean up the b-blood."_

_G stared at him for a moment before sighing again. "First, you need to change. Come on, I'll help you to your room."_

* * *

"And you really didn't tell anyone until you blurted it out?" G nodded as he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"After that I started paying more attention to him and I'd always try to help him out anytime I saw him all bruised up. The kid's almost like a little brother to me now and, it's pretty depressing to see him like this."

"So, you told me about Natsu. Start talking about Giotto. Has he done anything to add to Juudaime's condition?"

"Giotto...is a slow idiot. He doesn't realize certain things until someone points it out, and even then he'd probably ignore it if it ruined something for him."

"What do you mean?"

"Giotto has a strange way of coping with things. There was this one time when we saw Tsuna getting bullied and, after I helped him, he ended up having to go to the hospital because of a fracture in his arm. The next day, when I told Giotto we should go visit him, he seemed completely shocked that Tsuna was in the hospital. Like all of that stuff had never even happened. Then it happened a few more times and, I understood. Giotto has his own reality. And if something happens that could damage that reality, he blocks it out, then completely forgets about it."

"Wait...So you're saying he only lets in the small things, then?"

"Not completely. It starts with the small things and then it moves onto the slightly bigger things, but nothing that he can't handle. This - This entire situation is something too big for him to handle so he's trying to block it out, but it's not as temporary as the other problems, so it's not working as well. That's why he's so reluctant to do things regarding Tsuna. Earlier, before, when Tsuna confessed. I had thought that Giotto would be able to handle it, but I guess I was wrong. He's still blocking that stuff out"

"When did you realize this?"

"The third time Tsuna was sent to the hospital from bullying."

"So how do you plan on fixing that?"

"By forcing him into situations that can't be ignored or forgotten. I'll force him if I have too, because the way things are right now, even if Tsuna does get better, everything overall will only get worse."

"You're trying really hard for something that's not any of your business."

"Yeah well...No one deserves to go through what Tsuna's gone through. And I want to at least make some parts of his life better, because, if this keeps up, he may not have that much of a life left to live."

Gokudera's eyes narrowed and he looked over at his cousin in confusion. "What the fuck are you talking about?" G ignored the question as he unlocked the apartment door and step inside. Gokudera immediately dropped the subject, knowing he wouldn't get anything else about what they just talked about from his cousin. He sighed as he grabbed the remote, plopping down on the couch after. He was being stressed by something that had absolutely nothing at all to do with him. He snorted. How wonderful.

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**Translations:**

_**Hisou:**_ Pathetic

_**Boku wa daijoubu:**_ I'm okay

_**Higaimouzou-san:**_ Mr. Paranoia

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This chapter is seriously overdue but there were a few technical difficulties that I couldn't get around. For example, storms that mess up the internet reception. My mom using the laptop near 24/7 now for some strange, unknown reason that she can't tell me. And a major case of writer's and suddenly getting really into httyd. I'm in love with Hiccup now. He's so adorable. And then I saw the second one and his mom is amazing! I'm currently going watching all the series episodes now. It's slowly turning into an obsession. But don't worry! I'll be a KHR Fangirl for life!

_Purposely not mentioning anything about G's last words of the chapter._

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you to all those that favourited and followed. And I also hope that this explained a few things about G and Giotto's relationship with Tsuna. Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;D


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you to the following reviewers! **Kai Chen, Cielo-Caelum, lovelydragonfly, thor94, Foxluna, fera1512, MetalGodlv66, YamamotoAna, treannawilliams and doremishine itsuko.**

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**Kai Chen: **Violence is always the answer, of course.

**Cielo-Caelum:** *takes velvet cupcake and soda* Bribe? What bribe? *looks around with shifty eyes then clears throat* Well about Giotto. It's not, completely, Nana and Iemitsu's fault that he's like that. He just has a different mentality than others which causes him to react in the way he does. And I'm sorry about Kyouya not being in the chapter, but he'll be in this one, just like you asked! Though his part isn't that big. No new characters in the chapter but I can tell you the first two that will come up! Hint hint, one's really annoying and the other is kinda sweet. *takes second cupcake and soda* Tell that, friend, of yours that I said thanks!

**lovelydragonfly: **No prob

**thor94: **Giotto is messed up. And Tsuna won't be helpless forever. But he is a pacifist so he wouldn't actually throw a punch, though he will be able to protect himself.

**Foxluna: **I'll let the story explain that statement. Giotto...is Giotto. G really does think Tsuna little brother so he is trying all he can to help him get better. And Natsu is also trying his best because he really does feel guilty and wants to make it up to Tsuna. Though, he may be trying a bit too hard, he only has the best in mind.

**fera1512: **Here you go! Sorry it's so late though.

**MetalGodlv66:** Minus all the blood and stuff, it is adorable. I just love brotherly 0227.

**YamamotoAna: **Tsuna, Natsu and them are 16-17, while Giotto, G and them are 18-19. Reborn is 21.

**treannawilliams:** Giotto's an idiot. Thanks for the compliment and sorry for such a late update!

**doremishine itsuko:** I cried while writing chapter 7, I felt so mean. And Tsuna will be ok...eventually. And sorry but I can't kill them, no death zone here. But they will DEFINITELY BE SEVERELY PUNISHED *grins sadistically* Thanks for the compliment by the way!

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Giotto sighed awkwardly as he walked the rest of the way home. Asari had already turned to head home so now it was just him and Tsuna, and he felt extremely awkward. Tsuna was still sleeping so that was a good thing, because he'd feel even more awkward if he was awake since there would be nothing to say. He glanced at the tiny brunette in his arms and gave a small smile. He looked peaceful like that. As if none of that had even happened and it was all some bad hallucination.

Really...When did things get so bad? He knew he had never been the best big brother to him. Always worrying over Natsu, playing with him, caring for him. But he wouldn't even spare a glance to Tsuna. He had always felt something was...wrong, whenever he was near him. Like, this bad vibe just rolling off of him. A bad omen. And he had seen the way their father had always looked at him. With hate, and disgust. Like he had regretted ever having him.

He hadn't known what it meant then but as he grew older he figured it out. So, he began avoiding him even more, and had convinced Natsu to do it too. He didn't want his father to start looking at him that way, and he didn't want it to happen to Natsu either. He hadn't know what to feel when Tsuna looked up at them, betrayed, every time they crossed paths. By then he had stopped talking outside the house completely, avoided his parents with every fiber in his body, and never spoke to either of them unless they asked him a question that would take more than a nod or shake of the head.

Yeah, after a bit he started to feel guilty about it. He could see that Tsuna seemed to be feeling down a lot more. They almost never saw him smile when he started ignoring him and when he convinced Natsu to do it too, it had disappeared completely. He always had this dead look in his eyes -_cracked_, his mind supplemented- as if one small little push would be too much and he'd break into a tiny million little pieces, too late to fix. Just like...now. He looked down when he felt a shift to see Tsuna looking up at him with dead, vacant eyes, _just like before_. He didn't say anything, didn't show anything, didn't even move as he continued walking as the house came into view. He only stared blankly as if he saw nothing, like his mind couldn't focus or there were literally no thoughts whatsoever in his head.

_**Just like before.**_

Giotto suddenly felt a small stab of guilt. _He _had done that too him, taking away the only thing that was keeping him happy, the only thing keeping him sane. He gently pushed open the gate with his foot, closing it the same way. And now it was happening again, and he had done absolutely nothing but deny it and act like the problem didn't exist. But what else could he do? That's how he coped with things, that's how he ran. He couldn't just, _change _that. He set Tsuna down before opening the door, motioning him in first.

* * *

Tsuna stared as Giotto pulled off his shoes. He was confused. His brother wasn't avoiding him or ignoring him like his life depended on it, which was strange. He's never payed any attention to him before so why would that change now? Unless...G was forcing him to do it. Of course...Maybe it was too much to hope that his brother had actually started to care for him. "Tsunayoshi." Tsuna tuned out of his thoughts and looked up. "Are you hungry?"

Tsuna shook his head as he shuffled his feet. He felt awkward now that his brother was actually paying attention to him after years of acting like he was cursed. It was weird because he looked genuinely worried, though he had a hard time believing that. Why was his brother acting like this all of a sudden? Sure, G had put him in these situations more than once but he had never even tried to put any effort into it and ended up giving in halfway through and handing him back. So why...Tsuna blinked and looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, dulled brown eyes meeting frowning blue eyes.

"Did you hear what I said?" Giotto asked once he finally got his brother to look at him. He sighed softly when Tsuna shook his head and leaned back up, letting his hand fall to his side. "I asked if you were tired." Tsuna thought for a moment before nodding slowly, eyes drifting back down to the ground. He was still tired from today. He had been feeling really worn out all day. Whenever he felt like doing something, the thought would disappear in a moment and the only thing left would be exhaustion. He couldn't help but feel something was wrong with that.

Tsuna snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a door open and realized that his brother had already brought him up to his room. He was really out of it today. "You rest. I'll be downstairs if you need anything, ok?" Tsuna nodded as he climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to his neck. "U-um...Sleep well, Tsunayoshi." Tsuna blinked at the awkward smile Giotto gave him nodded.

"_Oyasumi_, Giotto-san," he whispered as he closed his eyes.

Giotto stood frozen for a moment before sighing softly. Really, his brother was surprising him all of a sudden. He made his way over to the door, raising an eyebrow when he noticed there wasn't a lock on the inside but brushing it off as a passing thought. He quietly made his way out of the room and gently shut the door behind him. He sighed again as he made his way downstairs and into the living room, switching on the TV.

* * *

Reborn and Hibari stared at each other for a moment before both sat down across from each other. "What did you want to talk about?" Reborn asked.

"You do realize that now that you're a teacher, you cannot be with him."

"What," Reborn started with narrowed eyes, "does that have to do with anything."

"There aren't to be any relationships between student and teacher. It's against policy."

"At least I actually treat him like a student and not a waste of space like all the other teachers. And we aren't in a relationship so I don't think it matters."

"You have yet to cease in pursuing him."

"Because he's mine to pursue."

"I don't believe you have claim over the usagi-herbivore. You cannot pronounce him as yours, to pursue or otherwise. He does not belong to you, carnivore."

"Nor he to you, Hibari." The two glared at each other but were interrupted when there was a knock on the door. Hibari let out a sigh as he calmed himself down.

"Come in," he answered quietly.

Kusakabe entered with a stack of files in hand, a frown on his face. He set the files down on Hibari's desk. "The bottom file contains the information you asked me to look into on Tsunayoshi-san. The two top files are damage reports for the science lab on the third floor. A few kids were messing around while the tutor was out and there was a small explosion. Though no one was seriously hurt, one had an allergic reaction and the other two have first degree burns on their hands. They are all in the nurse's office being treated."

Hibari's eye twitched but he nodded and stood. "We will continue our conversation at a later date." Hibari gave a curt nod to the other before walking out, Kusakabe following behind him. Reborn waited for the footsteps to die out before standing and walking over to Hibari's desk, moving the two top files out of the way and picking up the bottom one. Why would Hibari be searching info about Tsuna?

He flipped open the file and quickly skimmed over the info, frowning. Tsuna's hospital records? Why would he... "So, he's the one that pays the bills?" Reborn muttered as he continued to look through the info. '_Seven years old, came in for a broken arm. Claimed to have fallen down the stairs yet obvious signs of adult hand prints. Denies completely. Nine years old, came in with an injured voice box. Refused to explain what happened. Adult male handprints on neck. Could not talk for two weeks, could not speak properly for another week after. Ten years old, came in with a broken leg and cracked hip bone -a wonder that he could even walk. Claimed to have been accidentally pushed down the stairs, though obvious case of bullying. Refuses to give anyone away though school cameras have been shown that Mochida Kensuke and friends were the cause. Ten years old, came in with a cracked rib. Had suddenly gone mute around this time. Did not deny the suggested claim of bullying. School cameras show that Osamu Kaneda and friends were at fault._'

The rest were frequent visits for sprains and multiple bruising with one or two cracked bones, along with pain medication suggestions. Reborn sighed as he closed the file, setting it back down and placing the others on top. Really, this kid was just a magnet for trouble. He turned and made his way out of the office, shutting the door behind him. Now, to head home and check up on the little- Reborn's thoughts stopped as someone turned the corner, bumping into him. He felt his eye twitch once he noticed the randomly spiked, dark brown hair. He really didn't want to deal with this right now.

"Sorry I - Oh, it's you. What are you still doing here?" Natsu asked.

"I was talking to Hibari."

Natsu raised an eyebrow but shrugged, deciding not to press. If it had to do with Hibari then it probably wasn't something good. "Anyway, why are you following me?"

"I'm not following you, brat."

"Then why are you going the same way as me? It's not like you live there."

"Basically. And as long as Tsuna's in that house, you can't get rid of me." Natsu clicked his teeth in annoyance as he turned his head.

"I don't like you, or the fact that you hang around my brother so much."

"Good to know because the feelings mutual. So what made you change your mind?"

"What?"

"Why are you so protective of Tsuna, all of a sudden?"

"...I don't have to answer that if I don't want too."

"Ok. But we still have like eight minutes until we get there and it's gonna be pretty awkward if you don't keep the conversation going, _gaki_."

Natsu growled, "_Baka ero-roujin_," he muttered under his breath as he quickened his pace. Reborn smirked as he easily kept up.

"Well?"

"...It's because...I felt guilty."

"For what?"

"Everything," Natsu answered immediately, frowning. He didn't really want to talk about it with him, but he guessed getting it out now would be good. At least he wasn't so torn up that he'd have a breakdown. He mentally shivered. It would be so embarrassing to be seen like that by him.

"Such as?"

"...Why do you want to know?"

"Because people don't normally have a change of heart like you did. After they realize their mistakes, normally they do nothing to try and fix them. So I'm wondering why you're not doing the same."

"Oh...Well, it's just...Tsuna and I used to be really close when we were younger. And he relied on me a lot which made me feel pretty good because, it meant I was doing my job as an older twin. But then I...Gio convinced me to stop playing with Tsuna. And so I started avoiding him too after that. And it just...hurt everytime he looked at me, because I knew I had hurt him when I did that. But I didn't want to disobey Gio because, he was my older brother. And I looked up to him and stuff."

"So you left your twin, the one that had been with you since birth, for the one that didn't even love you both equally? Even though you were practically the same back then?"

"Well when you put it that way, it sounds a lot worse than at first. But...I always listened to Gio when I was smaller, so I just did it without thinking. I didn't know why he didn't want me around Tsuna, I just knew that's what he wanted. And I didn't want to disappoint."

Reborn nodded, noticing that the house was nearing. "Listen, kid. I don't like you all that much, and I know that you feel the same about me. But Tsuna wouldn't want to see us fighting like we've been doing, even if we are just glaring and insulting each other. And I know you know that too."

"Because it's Tsuna and he wouldn't want his twin fighting with the most important person in his life."

"Glad you could admit it. But yeah, that's why I'm doing this now so we won't have to worry about it when he gets better."

"...This is really out of character for you. Is there another reason you're doing this that I should know about but probably don't want to?"

Reborn chuckled and shrugged. "You'll find out after he gets better."

"You say it like you know he will."

"Because I do. Tsuna's...already gone through this before. Though he was a lot younger and hadn't gone through as much stuff to wear him down. But, I got him back on his feet, and I plan on doing the same thing this time around."

"What...Is there anything I can do to help?" Natsu asked, his voice just above a whisper as he turned to look up at Reborn, the two stopping in front of the gates.

"Just keep doing what you're doing now. Tsuna needs love, the one thing he's never gotten from his family. So long as you keep providing him with that, you're doing your part. Though it's going to take a lot more than just that to get him through this one, it's a great start."

"Then...what if I convinced Gio to do it too? Convinced him to try with Tsuna like I am?"

"That would be much better, since Giotto had never loved him in the first. But, I have to tell you something now. I'm taking your parents to court."

"What?"

"I'm taking them to court, later on when Tsuna's more stable and can properly respond. When that happens, I need you to be a witness for all the things they've don to him."

"Anything, I'll do anything if it means helping Tsuna and preventing whatever this situation is from happening again. I just...I don't want to see him hurt like this ever again."

Reborn smirked and reached forward to flick Natsu on the forehead. "Good. With that kind of attitude, everything should go well and we'll make sure Tsuna won't have to go through this again." Natsu nodded, rubbing at the spot on his forehead.

"Um...Thanks for not...you know."

"I know." The two turned after that and made their way inside, Natsu closing the door behind them.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Oyasumi: **Goodnight

**Gaki: **Brat

**Baka: **Idiot/Stupid/Fool

**Ero-roujin: **Perverted-old man/Erotic-old man

* * *

RANTING AHEAD RANTING AHEAD [I'm pissed. It's 3:14 in the morning right now and I'm tired as hell and I have babysitting for the majority of the day. My mom...We got in an argument over my little brother's birthday and my step-dad joined in (hate his fucking guts) and she somehow ended up siding with that asshole (I liked my first one better) so I got all my writing stuff taken away. All five of my books, the laptop, my phone (which he all hid because my mom can't hide shit) and they wouldn't let me near the tablet. She even took away my notecards so I couldn't write on those either. Ugh. And school is this Monday too and I'm so behind and I feel terrible for it. So yeah, I got my stuff back right before she went to bed, because she thought I'd go to sleep too (Haha! Wrong bitch!). But I stayed up all night typing this. I'm not satisfied with it _at all_. But it'll have to do because I don't want to be anymore behind before school starts. I'll try to make the next one better, but my classes are all piled up cause I want to get everything done now so I have more freedom my senior year. *whines pathetically while pouting* The homework~!] RANTING END RANTING END

But anyway! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thank you for all the follows and favs and the wonderful reviews! Sorry that it's so late and I really tried my best to make up for it but I really am about to pass out. So, that's all for this chapter. Natsu and Reborn had a little heart to heart there. Hibari confronted Reborn about Tsuna. And you learned around some stuff from Tsuna's past, though not anything much. Thank you again for reading my story and continuing all the way to this chapter. I'm really grateful for all the support and I hope you'll stay for the next update! BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;D


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you to the following reviewers! **Cielo-Caelum, MetalGodlv66, Riomi-senpai, animatronic 2.9, Haraguroi Yukirin, Blazin'Blue, Crucifix Hime, thor94, lovelydragonfly, YamamotoAna, VandQ, one guest, Foxluna, treannawilliams, and Hinatauchiha1.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

* * *

"Tsuna, could you come here for a sec?" Tsuna glanced back at the table and nodded, turning the stove down before walking over. "Did anything happen after I left?" Natsu asked.

Tsuna blinked. Well, something happened but it wasn't anything bad which is what he guessed his brother meant. He shook his head. Though he did hear those girls talking to Gokudera, but he supposed his brother wouldn't really care since the two of them didn't really seem to like each other very much. "Ok. And, um, _Gio _and I will help you with your homework after we're done eating, ok?"

"Natsu, I didn't-"

"_Right_. Gio?" Natsu gave a small, strained smile to his older brother who sighed and nodded. "Great. That's all, Tsuna." Tsuna nodded once before going back to cooking.

Natsu watched as his brother cooked dinner. When he first heard he was completely shocked and a little put off at how well he could cook. It's not like he didn't expect him to be able to, he was just surprised that he could do it so well. Like a professional almost, like the ones on the cooking shows his mother watches. He had expected him to be a little clumsy at least while in the kitchen but he was completely graceful and everything was flawless. The way it looked, the smell, how it tasted. Everything. So, he's wondering how he never noticed when Tsuna was practicing his cooking. After all, he must have done it at some point.

And to get as good as he is now, it must've taken a lot so he had to have been doing it frequently. So how did he miss it? Unless...He went somewhere else to practice. But that wouldn't make any sense. He didn't have any friends back then and no one really liked him all that much. So it's not like he could just ask to-... "Tsuna." Tsuna glanced back at Natsu and nodded. "You have a part time job, right?"

Tsuna nodded, and Natsu noticed his eye color lighten before dying back down. The mention of his job made him that happy that it was noticeable? "When's the next time you're supposed to go?" Tsuna thought for a moment as he turned off the stove, getting out the plates.

"This...This weekend?" he murmured unsurely as he took out an equal amount of food for two of the plates then set them down in front of Giotto and Natsu. "I think."

"I'm coming with you." Tsuna immediately stiffened at the proclamation and shook his head. "Why not?"

"M-my boss," he whispered. "H-he doesn't really...like it wh-when we b-bring in family, u-unless they're going to w-work. S-so it'd be best i-if you, um, d-didn't come." Giotto stared at Tsuna in shock at the complete rejection of the idea while Natsu looked up with wide eyes at the fact that Tsuna had spoken more than a five to six word sentence. He held back a grin at the fact that he had gotten him to talk so much at one time.

"O-oh, um...Ok. Maybe another time then. What about when you're free and we can go in as customers? That would be ok, wouldn't it?"

Tsuna thought for a moment before giving a small nod, setting Reborn's plate down in front of him while he sat in the open seat next to him, his own plate in front of him. "That would be...nice," he mumbled. He was never allowed to go out with his brothers before. He was always told to either stay at home or in the car by himself while they went out. And if - on the off chance that he was allowed to go out with them, he wouldn't get a say in anything and had to do what they wanted instead.

He remembered, when he was eight, that they had gone to a carnival that had come to town for Natsu's birthday present. He had said that he wanted to use the bathroom and, though he didn't expect them to, his parents had said yes. He found it strange but didn't voice it as he went to do his business. When he came back out, they were nowhere in sight. He nearly slapped himself for being so stupid. Of course his parents would try to leave him there.

Even though he knew the way home, he had stayed at the entrance of the park waiting for them, since he didn't want to walk in the dark. Plus they probably wouldn't even let him inside if he did, and he didn't want to spend the night outside. He waited for at least an hour before they came out. He didn't say anything as he followed them to the car, knowing that it would only make his situation worse if he did.

Tsuna sighed softly. Maybe he should've taken that chance. Even an orphanage would've been better than how he was living now. Though...Tsuna lifted his head to looked up at his brothers. He didn't want that negative attention to shift to them. So, he'll put up with it best he can. Tsuna looked back down and stared at his food. He wasn't all that hungry right now. He was still mostly full from lunch today. He had a small breakfast today too. Didn't really feel the need to eat all that much, lately.

"Tsuna." He looked up at his name and turned to Reborn, who was frowning as he looked at his full plate. "Eat. I don't care if you're not hungry, you won't get better if you skip meals."

Tsuna stared blankly at Reborn for a moment before nodding. He would eat, if Reborn told him to. Reborn had been the first one to accept him, despite his clumsiness and stupidity. He had been nice to him when others weren't, protected him when no one else would. Loved him...when they pushed him away. He owed Reborn so much from when they were younger, and even for what he's done now. But he had no idea how to repay him for all of that.

He sighed again, this time a little harder with a pout. Maybe he was thinking too much about this. After all, Reborn would only say that he didn't need to and to take care of himself instead. Like he always did. Tsuna's thoughts paused when he yawned and he glanced down to see that he had eaten most of his dinner. He set his chopsticks down and looked over at Reborn who sighed and nodded.

He scraped the remainder of his food in the trash then washed his dishes off, setting them on the drying wrack. He planned to put them away later. Alright, he thought as he dried his hands, time to start on the homework while his brothers were finishing up. He didn't want them to have to help him with everything, or he'd only feel like a burden.

Truth is, he wasn't a dumb as people thought he was. Sure, he may lack some street smarts but he could manage when it came to books. It's just that the teachers never actually looked at his tests when grading them. They skipped over a lot of problems and only marked a few as right. He usually got pretty good grades on his homework. But since the tests are worth more, it drops his grade considerably.

Though he never says anything about it since it would only get his parents agitated, along with his teachers. And that would be a double hell for him, and he didn't have the energy to deal with that. And he didn't want to go to Hibari with his problems, since he wasn't sure if he would actually be able to do anything. Plus, he was always really busy and he didn't want to push his problems onto him.

After a couple minutes of doing problems he heard a knock on his door, his brothers and Reborn stepping in right after. "You've already started?" Natsu asked as he walked over to him. Natsu stood on his left while Giotto stood on his right, Reborn leaning over him from behind as they all looked over his problems. He ignored the fact that Reborn was slightly closer than normal, and the negative aura he felt coming from Natsu when Reborn rested his chin on his head. "You've only got two wrong and you've already done six of them...Tsuna, can you show me some of your past tests?"

"Why?" he mumbled as he glanced over at his twin.

"You're doing well on the homework so I wanted to know why you failed the tests, since you seem to know what you're doing."

"O-oh. T-top l-left drawer."

Natsu walked over to Tsuna's dresser and opened the drawer specified, pulling out at least ten sheets of paper and setting them down on the table. He glanced over a few of them, frowning deeply by the fourth one. "Something wrong, Natsu?" Giotto asked as he moved over next to the other.

"All the ones he got wrong are marked as right, and all the ones he got right are marked as wrong."

"What?"

"I know these three are right, because I got them right when I did the test. And this one here is wrong, because I had a different answer, and it was right. This one was right too, and all of the bottom ones too. This is..." Natsu sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ok, so this is a math test. and one from awhile back meaning Nezu was the one to check it." He set the paper down and picked up another one and went through it.

"This one here is different. The ones he got wrong are clearly marked, but then the others are just randomly marked right and wrong, even though he got them all right."

"What test is it?" Reborn asked as he went through one.

"Science test from a month ago."

"Here's an English test. It's not even marked all the way through, but it's been failed."

"Wait, let me see that." Reborn handed the paper to Giotto and he frowned as he looked at the ones that had been marked. "These are all right, everything. He didn't miss a single one. What..."

"That's why."

"Natsu?"

"Tsuna, how many problems have you done so far?" Tsuna held up the sheet to show that he had completed the entire front of the worksheet. Natsu looked over the problems and nodded. "Numbers 2, 5, 13 and 16 are wrong, but other than that, he's got it all right."

"I'll deal with this tomorrow, I'll have a chat with Hibari."

"Make sure not to blow up the school," Natsu muttered as he let Tsuna get back to work.

"Very funny, _gaki_." Natsu snorted as he put Tsuna's tests away.

"Right, Tsunayoshi obviously doesn't need any help so I'll just be on my wa-"

"Sit your ass down and start acting like the older brother you claim to be," Natsu hissed as he glared at Giotto. Giotto sighed in annoyance and sat back down, pouting as he rested his head on the table. "Don't be a dick, Gio. You said you'd try, so I expect you to."

"But there's nothing to do. He doesn't need any help so there'd be no point in just sitting here and wasting time?"

"Do you have homework to do?"

"No."

"Do you have Student Council work to work on?"

"Not today."

"Then stop whining. You don't have anything important to do, so you'd be wasting time even if you weren't in here."

"A-ano..." The two turned to Tsuna who had Reborn draped over him, arms wrapped around his waist as he stared at the two of them. Natsu glared at the older man who smirked and hugged Tsuna closer, resting his chin on the brunette's head. "I-I'm not good at history..." Tsuna mumbled as he gazed over at his brothers, his irises shining slightly.

"Ah, right. We're studying the Anglo-Satsuma War right now, right? What do you need help with?" Natsu asked as he sat back down on Tsuna's left.

Giotto huffed as he watched the three of them work. He still didn't understand why he was here. It's not like he actually planned on helping with anything, since Natsu could handle that himself. And if Natsu didn't know, then they could ask Reborn for help. He wasn't needed! Sure, he said he would start trying. But that was kinda hard to do when the person you're trying with doesn't respond, never looks you in the eye, hardly even talks, and a bunch of other things that he couldn't name at the moment.

"Gio, stop pouting. Your face is really annoying right now."

"'m not pouting," he muttered as his pout increased.

"Gio..." Natsu held back from facepalming. "Fine, go then. But you'll only be proving that you don't care, that you never cared, and that you never will care. And that you agree with mom and dad's opinions."

"I...Fine, I'll stay." Giotto sighed as he sat a little closer, glancing up when he felt a gaze. Tsuna was looking at him with his head tilted slightly to the side, his eyes blank and unblinking.

"Giotto-san doesn't have to," he said softly.

"Tsunayoshi..." Giotto shook his head and smiled softly, "No, it's fine. I'll stay."

* * *

(Three Days Later)

"You want to what?" Yamamoto asked as he glanced over at Natsu.

"I want to follow him. I don't know what his job is, mom and dad probably wouldn't tell me if they knew so I'm not going to bother asking. I don't think Reborn knows, and if he does he'd tell me to find out by myself just to piss me off."

"So you want to stalk him to find out what it is? Since he won't tell you," Yamamoto concluded with a sigh.

"Right. He goes this weekend, so I'll ask him what time he leaves so I know when to go."

"So, why are you telling me?" he asked, turning to look at the other.

"Because you're coming with me. I'm not good at making up excuses, so I'll have you do it if he catches us. Plus he seems pretty lax when you're around so..."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"He might panic if I'm the only one there since he worries about stuff that I couldn't even begin to understand, whenever I'm around. Plus, you promised you'd do something with me this weekend and that's what I want to do."

"Stalk your brother," Yamamoto said dryly.

"Stop saying it like that will you? I'm just...watching...over...him?"

"Natsu, you know for a fact that's stalking, and invading his privacy. He said he'd like to go with you on one of his days off, right? Why can't you wait until then? Then you'll get to see it yourself without being an over obsessive, brother complexive stalker."

"I'm not obsessive, and I do not have a brother complex. I'm just...worried that something may happen on his way to work. You never know," Natsu shrugged as he said it, avoiding eye contact.

"He's been fine up until now. Why would something happen this time?"

"Because I'm paranoid, that's why. Now are you coming or not?" Natsu asked, stretching his feet out in Yamamoto's lap as he laid on the couch.

"You know, sometimes I feel like it's too much work being your boyfriend."

"Aren't you sweet," Natsu mumbled as he flipped to a different station. "Yes or no?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll come. If I didn't, you'd blow your cover not even two minutes in. You aren't the best at sneaking around."

"H-hey! That was one time, alright?"

"We've known each other since we were kids, Natsu. It's happened at least a hundred times by now."

Natsu blushed in embarrassment as he pouted. "Sh-shut up, _baka_." Yamamoto laughed as he reached over to ruffle his boyfriend's hair, causing him to blush more.

* * *

"Oh my god, Natsu, really?" Giotto asked in exasperation, a hand running through his hair.

"Well, you can either come or not. I've already talked to Reborn and he had planned on doing it before I asked so he's joining." Natsu shrugged as he spoke, sitting down on Giotto's bed without a thought. He wouldn't force his brother to come, but what he said a couple days ago could easily be brought up again and he wasn't afraid to use it to his advantage, even if that was like cheating.

"Well...If G goes then I'll go."

"Good, cause he's coming. I knew you'd say that, that's why I didn't mention him. But I've already asked and he was planning to go with Reborn."

"You already had all of this planned out, didn't you?" Giotto deadpanned.

"Of course. Anyway, we can't go like normal so we need disguises. I've already got mine down and you'll probably have the same one as me since it's the only thing we can actually do with our hair, without...you know, cause of how it spikes. Takeshi said he had his planned out, and Reborn has his own too. G hasn't said anything about it yet so I'm not sure, but yeah."

"I really feel like you're going too far with this."

"Hey, Gio?"

"Yes, Natsu?"

"...Why did you separate me and Tsuna in the first place? Even though we were so happy together?"

"Well...I always noticed the way mom and dad looked at him. So, I thought that if I kept you two apart, then they wouldn't look at you that way. I was doing it to protect you."

"But, you never once thought of how Tsuna might feel because of it. Or why they were looking at him like that in the first place, and what it meant for Tsuna."

"I was eight, alright? I didn't really think things through back then. I was acting on impulse."

"Yes, yes you were," Natsu agreed with a frown, "And now we're in this situation because of it."

"You're at as much fault as I am since you actually listened to me, you know."

"Because you're my older brother, Gio. You know that back then, I listened to every single word you would say since I didn't like getting you upset or angry."

"So? I didn't want you to go through whatever Tsuna was going through back then, I just wanted to protect you."

"Without protecting him at all, like he didn't even matter."

"Natsu, I'm not going to have this conversation with you again. If this is all you're going to talk about right now, we might as well stop."

Natsu's frowned deepened before he scowled, standing up. "Fine then, don't talk about why you never even thought of what Tsuna might have been going through from the moment of his birth, and how you feel no guilt for all the extra pain you put him through because of your stupidly selfish actions. Whatever. Just have a disguise ready by tomorrow so we can leave on time. We leave a little after he does so around seven in the morning. If you're late we aren't waiting." Natsu stormed out before Giotto could respond and the latter sighed as his room door was slammed shut, Natsu's harsh footsteps echoing as he went down the stairs.

Giotto sluggishly made his way over to his bed and flopped face down onto the mattress, letting out a groan of frustration. He felt like everything he did was wrong. Every tiny little move he'd make would set Natsu off. Hell, he felt like breathing too loud was enough to anger the boy now. He honestly didn't know what to do anymore.

* * *

"I feel like you're putting too much effort into this," Yamamoto whispered as they watched Tsuna leave.

"That's funny, because I feel like you aren't putting enough effort into this. You don't look any different!" Natsu whispered harshly.

"I have a hat on," he mumbled as he averted his eyes with an awkward smile. Natsu facepalmed with a sigh. He really should've expected as much.

He turned to look over at his brother and rose an eyebrow. "What did you do to your hair?" he mumbled.

"I didn't want to coat it in gel like you did with yours so I straightened it out and combed it down, then curled my bangs to the side."

"They'd look better to the right instead of to the left, but whatever."

"Good thing it's my hair and not yours. And G and Reborn don't look any different so I don't get why we have to be in disguise while they don't."

"Because Tsuna will probably freeze up if he sees us, as much as I hate to admit it. But he's used to their presence, so he might not mind as much." Natsu frowned as he said it, ignoring the smug smirk he got from Reborn as he did. "So, if we're done we should get moving." Natsu didn't wait for a response as he followed behind Reborn and G who had already started following behind Tsuna.

Giotto sighed and rolled his eyes as he and Yamamoto followed after them.

* * *

Tsuna held back a sigh as he pulled up his hood, his head down as he walked. He could feel them following him, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were, but he could tell there were close. He didn't know _why _they were following him, or why they thought they had to. His thoughts paused and he pouted slightly, he wasn't that reckless was he? It's not like he got into trouble everywhere he went. Or got hurt with every step he took.

He wasn't that accident prone...Well, there was that one time when he accidentally tripped over a rock and fell face first into a mass of cherry blossom petals that had gathered. Which then led to them getting scattered everywhere, revealing the ants' nest underneath. He had been paranoid for a week after.

There was another time when he had zoned out and accidentally bumped into a foreigner and spilled their groceries everywhere. He helped him pick them up, of course. But then he was late getting home because of it and ended up getting punished since dinner wasn't made in time.

There was also that one time when - Tsuna's thoughts were cut off as he bumped into someone just as he turned the corner, wincing as his butt hit the ground. "_G-gomen_," he mumbled as he stood with the help of the person he bumped into, brushing his pants off after.

"Kufufufu." Tsuna looked up at the strange laugh and held back from screaming like a little girl when the stranger's face right in front of his, mismatched red and blue eyes staring into his own. He backed up a little and the stranger smiled as he did the same. "No need to apologize, it was partially my fault after all," the stranger said in a smooth, slightly deep voice.

"Although..." Tsuna looked down when he realized that he had spilled the man's coffee all over the pavement and blushed in embarrassment.

"S-sorry, I-I'll pay you b-back," he stuttered as he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He didn't really have that much left because of the two weekends he was off of work but he should have enough to buy this guy a cup of coffee, at least.

He stopped when the stranger's hands rested over his own, smile still on his face. "Don't trouble yourself about it, it was only an accident. Anyway, I'm Rokudo Mukuro, you can call me Mukuro. And your name is?"

His blush increased and he looked away, removing his hands from Mukuro's hold and putting his wallet back in his pocket. "S-Sawada Tsunayoshi, b-but you can call me Ts-Tsuna. I-if you want to!"

The person chuckled, "I think I'd prefer Tsunayoshi-kun. You wouldn't mind, would you?" Tsuna shook his head, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"I-it's fine. A-anyway, I have to g-go. I-I'm running a l-little behind, for work."

"Kufufu, then how about I walk you? As compensation for the coffee, and incase you get in trouble so you'll have a valid explanation."

"I-I...I guess?" he answered unsurely. He knew he shouldn't just accept the offer like that, but he felt bad about spilling the coffee and he wanted to make it up to him. And it's not like he'd kidnap him or anything. He wouldn't gain anything by kidnapping someone like him. Though...No, he'll be fine.

"Great, then let's go." Tsuna didn't have time to respond as Mukuro grabbed his hand and pulled him along in the direction he was originally heading. He didn't say anything, didn't even give an indication of notice, when he felt killer intent leaking from the house to his right as he walked. It's not as if it'll help anything if he does.

* * *

Natsu and G ground their teeth as they watched Mukuro drag Tsuna away, Reborn glaring in silent envy. Tsuna hadn't talked that much to any of them in the last week and he's managed to get that much out of him in less than five minutes. And he was a total stranger!

Natsu followed behind them, letting out a low growl when Tsuna blushed because their hands were still intertwined and Mukuro refused to let go. He didn't know why he felt so jealous because of that fact...Maybe because Tsuna used to flinch everytime he got near, before he got like this. Or the fact that he avoided him with all his might whenever he tried to get close. And maybe because the guilt for ignoring Tsuna in the first place which caused him to act like that is hitting him hard right now. Seeing how his younger twin is getting along with a random guy on the street way more than he has with him for the past nine years.

He scowled when Tsuna giggle softly, practically leaking an aura of death as he watched the two of them. He glanced to his left to see that G wasn't taking it any better than he was.

G's aura was at least ten times worse than his as he death glared at the pineapple head. He couldn't believe this. Normally Tsuna came to him for almost everything but lately he's been so cut off and distant, so he hasn't gotten anything out of him. And then this...this freaky weirdo looking guy here can get Tsuna to laugh on the first meeting! Plus he's still blushing and the guy is smiling like there's no tomorrow! Like, the hell?

He felt a spike in killing intent and turned to see that the aura around Reborn looked plain murderous as he watched the two exchange, though his face was blank. He felt bad for the poor guy if Reborn ever got his hands on him. He looked back when he heard a sigh to see Giotto facepalming, shaking his head in a 'you're all idiots' kind of way. "If you all keep leaking deadly auras like that, he'll find out we're here," he whispered with a roll of his eyes.

"He probably already knows by now," Yamamoto supplied with a small smile, shifting his hat slightly. "He's been looking back at us since you guys started glaring." Yamamoto chuckled at the looks he was given and G and Natsu crouched down lower, trying to hide their presence while Reborn only pulled back his killing intent, his shoulders relaxing a small amount as he tried to contain himself. He couldn't get worked up over something like this, it was silly.

It's not as if Tsuna would end up meeting the guy again after this so it wouldn't matter after today. Though he couldn't help but feel there was something wrong with that thought. Very, _very _wrong.

* * *

Tsuna smiled awkwardly up at Mukuro as the other refused to let go of his hand, making a small joke about him attempting to escape. He didn't understand why this person was so friendly to him. Normally those that were new in town were immediately alerted of his status and were told to avoid him at all costs, he's seen the moms in the neighborhood talk about it before to a new neighbor that moved in a year ago, so he knows it happens.

Though, looking up at the boy, that was only one year older than him apparently, he couldn't help but think that he seemed a little familiar. He knows he's never met him before, though he looks like someone he knows. But for the life of him, he couldn't seem to remember. He'll probably feel bad when he does though.

He let out a small sigh of relief when he saw the familiar building of his job come into view. "U-um, we're h-here now. So it's a-alright right if you-"

"You work at a foreign restaurant?" Mukuro asked with a small smirk, ignoring the tug Tsuna gave on his hand. "Well, then you wouldn't mind if I stayed for a meal, would you?"

"W-well, I'm not sure if-" Tsuna was cut off again when Mukuro chuckled, bringing his hands to his lips.

"It's only for one meal, Tsunayoshi-kun. It's not a problem, is it?" Tsuna blushed brightly, ignoring the three spikes of killing intent from the trees behind him.

"I...guess not." he mumbled.

"That's good. But, what do you do for work here?"

Tsuna's eyes brightened and he gave a shy smile as he scratched his cheek with his free hand as he blushed softly. "I-I'm the chef here."

"Not the assistant chef?"

Tsuna shook his head. "I've been the chef here for four years now, and the manager said that ever since I started working here, business has gotten better. Though I've been off for a bit so I'm not sure if she'll be too happy when I see her."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Now, let's go in, shall we? I'd love to try your cooking."

"Oh, s-sure." Mukuro chuckled as he opened the door, allowing Tsuna to step in first and walking in after him. He cast a glance over at the trees to the left of the restaurant and smirked in smugness, just before the door closed.

Mukuro looked around the interior of the restaurant. Square tables on each side with pale orange table cloth on the top, a small vase of light orange and white roses in the middle, lounge chairs that were a light brown on each side. In the center of the tables there's a path that leads up to the bar counter that had white and grey stools around it. IN the corners were tables for two and he guessed they were placed there for privacy. Further in the back there were longer tables with regular chairs and he guessed those were for get together customers that had more than the normal amount of people. Well, they certainly weren't bad at decorating.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." Mukuro held back a chuckle when he saw Tsuna jump at the sudden call of his name, hand still held in his. "Where have you been for the past two weekends? The restaurant has been a wreck without you in the kitchen." Mukuro examined the woman that had walked up in front of them with hands on her hips.

She was at least six feet tall with slightly tanned skin, straight, dark brown -nearly black- hair that reached a little past her shoulders with her bangs pulled to the left with a white hair clip. She had light brown eyes with a small touch of dark blue eyeshadow on her eyelids. She wore what he guessed was the uniform. A white, long sleeved dress shirt with a pale orange suit jacket over it, along with a pale orange pencil skirt that stop just above her knees, her shoes being two inch heels with white as the base color with orange around the edges. On the right side of her chest was a pin that read, "Manager: Usami Akiya".

"_G-gomen, kantoku_. I've been, sick for a while. A-and I haven't been able to call. _Gomen_." Tsuna bowed as he said it, finally getting Mukuro to release his hand.

She frowned before sighing, motioning for him to straighten up. "It's fine, Tsuna. Just make sure to call next time, alright? And who's this? I hope it's not one of your bu-"

"N-no!" Tsuna exclaimed before she could finish, waving his hands in denial. "No, he's not, I promise. I-I met him on the way, a-and accidentally spilled his coffee. S-so I wanted to make it up to him. Please don't kick him out." Tsuna gave a hesitant smile when she raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, I won't. Just make sure he doesn't cause any trouble. Now get going, a few of your regulars have been waiting for you to get back."

"H-hai! Um, Mukuro. You can sit at one of the corner tables, if you like. People that come here tend to ignore the rules of personal space and sit with anyone that's at the table they normally sit at. I-I'll be in the back, and a waiter should be up soon to take your order."

"Kufufu, thank you for your hospitality, Tsunayoshi-kun." Tsuna blushed at the smile he was given as he nodded before quickly making his way into the back, putting on his apron and tying a plain white bandanna around his head to keep his hair back, since the chef's hat could never fit. He waved to the two that were already in as he made his way over to the sink to wash his hands, smiling slightly when they greeted him back.

He let out a small sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing. He was finally back in his sanctuary.

* * *

"You guys saw that too, right?" They all nodded at Natsu's question and he sighed. "Working here must be a safe haven for him if he gets that happy when he talks about it. So, who wants to go in first?"

"You're going in first, Natsu. This was your idea so you be the leader." Natsu stared at his brother for a moment before rolling his eyes with a huff and standing up.

"Fine, fine. I'll go in first, you guys can come in after."

"Wait but G and Reborn don't-" Giotto stopped when he turned to the two of them to see that they had changed outfits. G's hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail and he had put in blue contacts and put on a pair of red-rimmed glasses. He also changed his shirt -when did that even happen?- to a plain green T-shirt with a black jacket over it and a pair of ripped, black jeans.

Reborn's fedora had disappeared in favor of just leaving his hair out and he had changed his suit to...another suit. This suit, however, consisted of a white, long sleeved, button up shirt with a dark brown vest over that and pair of brown dress pants. Apparently both had done their changes when no one was looking...in less than a minute. "Ok, nevermind. Let's get going then." It'd be better if he didn't question it.

Natsu rolled his eyes as he walked out of their hiding place with the others slowly following behind him. "I don't see why I have to be in front. It's not like it's my place. Plus I'm the youngest so the oldest should be the one in front, not the youngest."

"Natsu, stop grumbling and just open the door."

"Guys? What excuse are we gonna use if Tsuna finds out it's us?" Yamamoto asked, hands in his pockets. Natsu paused just before opening the door.

"Shit...Didn't think of that. Anyone got any ideas?" he asked as he turned to them.

"Tell him that his twin is stalking him and we somehow got dragged into it?" G suggested in a slight deadpanned tone, fishing out a pack of cigarettes. Giotto snatched it away before he could pull one out and threw them in the trash bin by the front. G sighed dejectedly and shoved his hands in his pockets. "That last my pack for this week too."

"Good. Anyway, why don't we say we're here for a congratulations party or something? Natsu just made captain of the basketball team, right? We could say that."

"That reminds me, we can't use our real names or it'll give us away."

"You say this now?" Giotto groaned out, massaging the space between his eyebrows with a sigh. "Did you even think this through?"

"...I was worried. You don't think things through when you're worried."

"Why were you even worried? He's only going to work."

"I didn't know what he did for work and I was worried that it might have been something bad. We've come this far already, if anything negative happened we'd be going right back to square one and I didn't want that to happen."

"Because you-"

"No, because I want my brother back, unlike you. Anyway, I'll be Kai. You, Gio, will be Kiitsu. Takeshi you'll be Yamato. G you'll be..."

"Gretel," Giotto mumbled under his breath. He flinched when G smacked him in the back of the head and chuckled, smirking up at the redhead. "What? That's your name isn't it?"

"That's not-"

"Ok, G will be Gretel. And Reborn can be...Renato."

"What?"

"Renato. It means Reborn in another language, doesn't it? So there, you're Renato."

"Do you even know what language that is, brat?"

"Nope, heard it somewhere, don't care either way. Now let's go, we're wasting time." Natsu didn't wait for a response as he pushed open the door, smirking when the saw the glares Reborn and G were giving him. Natsu gave a polite smile when a waitress came up to them.

She wore a white button up shirt with a pale orange skirt that stopped mid-thigh and a black apron with two large pockets on the front, along with a pair of white sneakers with orange outlines. "Good afternoon, my name is Kamura Kana and I'll be your waitress for today. Table for five?" she asked with a bright smile, her tone extremely peppy. Natsu nodded. "Alright then, please follow me." As they passed by the counter she grabbed five menus and led them to the back, giving them a table closer to the window.

"Our original chef came back today after a while of absence so please order whatever you like, no matter the amount - as long as you can pay for it of course. He'd be willing to make anything. I'll be back in a couple minutes to take your orders." She grinned again with a small bow before walking back to the front counter to wait for any others that might come in.

"Ok so...Anyone bring their wallets?" Natsu asked with a hopeful looked. Yes, he had brung his own but he doubted he had enough on him at the moment. He normally only carried a little over ¥6000 whenever he went out and he's sure it's going to cost more than that when he's done. He grinned in sedated glee when everyone else pulled out their own wallets and started looking through the menu. "We're gonna buy so much," he mumbled when he glanced up and saw them doing the same.

* * *

"Tsu-chan~!" Kana said as she entered the kitchen, ignoring the looks of annoyance she got from the two assistants.

"Hai, Kana-chan?" Tsuna asked as he turned to look at her with a small smile.

"You've got a boat load to make, table for five and they've all got large appetites. He's the list." She handed him a two slips of paper both written on completely, back and front, with a small smile. "Two of them kinda looked like you two, mostly the one with brown hair. Anyway, you might want to hury up. They all looked starved for some reason."

Tsuna chuckled softly as he nodded, taking the two slips of paper. "I'll get it done quick, kay? But please don't scare them off like you did that last new customers that came."

"Well, they were your bullies and they deserved to be punished," she mumbled darkly. "Anyway, we have a few regulars coming in now. Tables five, three, and fifteen."

"Yes, yes. Now go on, you aren't even supposed to be back here, Kana-chan. _Kantoku _will get angry with you."

"Sure, but you owe me you know."

"I know." He laughed softly when she ruffled his hair then walked out, the kitchen doors swinging closed behind her. He retied the bandana and sighed as he looked over the orders. Really, couldn't they have ordered things that didn't take as long to make?

"Tsuna-san?" He glanced over at Mika, who had begun working as an assistant chef a few months ago, and nodded for her to continue. "Are we really going to be able to make all of this in time? It's...really a lot."

"Yeah, Tsuna-san," he turned to look over at Mitsu, her brother had started two months before her. "We've never made this much at once before. Are you sure..."

Tsuna smiled softly and reached over to ruffle their hair, "Don't worry, you too. I'm experienced with making tons and with you two to help me, we'll get done in no time. Plus, this well be your time to try and make your own meals."

"B-but are you sure we can-"

Tsuna shook his head and Mika stopped her thought. "You've been practicing for a long time now, and it's time to see how much you two have grown. Now, let's get out and wash the ingredients, ok?"

"Hai!"

* * *

"...Do you think we ordered too much?" Natsu asked as he played with his fork.

"She said any amount and she was smiling the entire time she was writing it down. I'm sure it's fine," G reassured, doing the same.

"But it's been twenty minutes," he mumbled with a sigh, resting his head down the table.

"And half that stuff takes half an hour so shut up, you little whiner. I'm pretty sure if we ordered too much, she would've said something by now," Reborn snapped, tired of the kid's whining. He had been asking the same thing since ten minutes ago and it was really grating on his nerves.

"Yeah but, we didn't order any appetizers. So he might be rushing to get them done." Natsu sunk further into his seat with a sigh.

Giotto sighed and rolled his eyes. "Natsu, your whining is getting really annoying. Stop worrying about it, will you? Tsuna's already used to making a lot of food since he feeds all of us on a daily basis. This will be no different."

Natsu pouted as he turned his head to face his brother. "But he's not making all the same thing for all of us. He's making a bunch of different things at once."

"Natsu, it's fine. Just relax and wait, alright? I'm sure Kamura will be out here soon with the food. Just calm down." Giotto felt his eye twitch at the look his younger brother was giving him.

Natsu's pout increased and he rolled his eyes, turning to face Yamamoto who had been silent the entire talk. "Takeshi, do you think I'm worrying too much about this?"

Yamamoto stayed silent for a moment before shrugging. "I'm kinda worried about it too since it is kind of a lot, even if he does make a lot normally. Because everyone got something different for the main course, and those normally take a while. Plus, it's Tsuna, and he's not gonna wanna disappoint, so he's going to try and make it the best he can."

"See~! Takeshi agrees with me."

The other three groaned in annoyance. "Natsu, _shut up_." Natsu shrunk back in his seat, still pouting up at the three of the three of them as they waited.

* * *

"Ano...Tsuna-san?" Mika mumbled as she opened the kitchen exit.

"Yes?" Tsuna asked as he glanced back at her, whisk in hand.

"There's...something you should see." Tsuna paused before turning down all the burners that he was using and setting down the bowl of eggs he had been whisking, wiping his hands off on his apron.

"What is it?" he mumbled as he walked over to her, Mitsu following behind him. The three stared blankly at the black and white blob on the other side of the alleyway and Tsuna tilted his head to the side when he saw it shiver. "Well, we obviously have a situation here. One of you go get kantou while the other continues cooking. I'll...see what it is."

"A-are you sure? What if it's something dangerous? Like a bomb or something?"

"Mika, you're too paranoid. Maybe you should stop watching those spy shows of yours. And what bomb would be cow print?"

Mika blushed as he turned her head. "Shut up, Mitsu." She quickly exited the kitchen to go and find the manager while Mitsu went back to cooking.

"You two," Tsuna mumbled with an exasperated sigh as he stepped out. He stopped in front of the blob and stooped down, slowly reaching out a hand to poke the top. It shifted at the action and raised an eyebrow when he saw some green underneath. So...it was a kid. "Ano...Are you alright?" he asked as he reached out to pick the kid up.

The kid sniffed and raised it's head and Tsuna stared at the large, tear filled, green eyes on the little boy. "W-who are you?" he mumbled.

"A-ah, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. But you can call me Tsuna, if you want to. Let's get you inside and I'll get you cleaned up, ok? And you can tell me your name after." The little boy nodded as he shivered again, rubbing the tears from his eyes. Tsuna smiled softly and ruffled his hair -this was the first time he had ever seen a kid with an afro- as he walked back into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. For some reason he felt like this was the start of a chain reaction, mostly having to do with his brothers. He shrugged as he stepped over to one of the big sinks, turning on the hot water and waiting for it to warm.

It couldn't possible be that bad.

* * *

**Translations**:

****Gaki: ****Brat

**Baka:** Idiot/Fool/Stupid

**Gomen**: Sorry

**Kantoku**: Manager/Director/Coach, and many other things.

* * *

**Conversions:**

**¥6000:** Around $50

* * *

I'm soooooooooo sorry that this is so late. But since school has started there's homework (curse that stuff for ever being invented) and I've been put in...advanced classes, this year. I don't know why though. So it's increased by like 20. And I have babysitting most nights and by the time someone gets home, it's already time for me to go to bed (so like, midnight). I'm sorry. But I tried to make this longer than the last one but it was mostly stalling and Natsu being paranoid. And Mukuro has finally appeared! Hooray~! He will have a bigger part in the next chapter, I swear (don't trust me with that) and it's easy to guess who the second person is. I'm really truly sorry for it being so late. I hope you like it and if I forgot a translation, could you tell me? I feel like I did. I can't find it though so. *shrug*

Um, that's it for this one. This will probably be my update schedule from now on, once/twice a month. I might have little intervals with random chapters in there to make up for late chapters. Or have an author's note put in to explain a few things people might be confused on, if you want me to. And to **animatronic 2.9** \- the first chapter was from the original story, other than that, the rest is a rewrite. I plan on redoing it at some point so it fits but I'm not sure when that'll happen since I've been so busy.

Thank you to all those that have followed and favorited and to those that have kept up with the story till now. I hope this chapter didn't bore you and I'm sorry if certain characters were OOC. Thanks for reading. BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;D


	14. Filler - Halloween Special

"Tsu-kun! Na-kun! We have to get going if we want to get there in time!"

"Coming!" the two replied, footsteps sounding on the stairs seconds later.

Two five year old twins came running into the kitchen, each wearing a different costume. Tsuna had on a pair or bright orange pumpkin shorts with a fluffy light brown tail connected to the back, a white T-shirt with an orange jacket, and a headband with light brown ears on the top. Natsu had on a black suit shirt with a frilled, red collar, black suit pants, and a red cape, fake vampire fangs peeking out from under his lips.

"Go put your shoes on, you two. Tsuyoshi said that Takeshi-kun is waiting for us."

"Hai. Come on Tsuna."

"Hai, Natsu-nii!" Tsuna turned and followed right behind his brother to the front door where they both sat down and pulled on their shoes. Tsuna pouted when he couldn't manage to tie the laces and looked over at his twin for help. "Natsu-nii, they won't tie properly."

"Don't you mean you can't tie them properly?" Giotto asked as he walked out from the living room and over to them, pulling on his own shoes.

Tsuna didn't say anything, instead looking down at the mess his shoelaces were currently in. He knew his older brother didn't like it when he responded, even if a question was asked. "I'll tie 'em for ya Tsuna. Don't worry about it."

Tsuna brightened as his twin sat down in front of him and undid the tangles then retied them. "Thank you, Natsu-nii!"

"You're spoiling him, Natsu. He won't be able to do anything for himself if you do it for him before he tries." Tsuna flinched at the voice of his father and frowned.

"B-but I did try," he mumbled, "You only ever show Natsu-nii how to do it so I don't know how to."

"Well you should know by seeing it once, brat. Now let's get going, Natsu, Giotto. Your brother's wasted enough time already."

"Here you go!" Nana said with a bright smile as she walked out of the kitchen, handing each of the kids a bag. "Gio-kun, why don't you have on your-" Nana did bother finishing her sentence as she ran into the living room and came back out with a cat ear headband and set it on his head, attaching the tail to his pants.

Giotto blushed as he pouted, "I'm too old to wear this stuff," he muttered.

"You're six years old now stop complaining, you loved it last year. Alright everyone, let's go!" Nana ushered the three of them out while shooting a glare back at Iemitsu who only rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Natsu, Tsuna! You guys came!" Yamamoto exclaimed when he saw the Sawada family walk in. The two were the first over to him and exchanged greetings while their parents talked, Giotto talking to Asari.

"Course we came, Takeshi. Anyway, let's get going or all the good candy's gonna be gone by the time we start."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going Yamamoto."

"You can call me Takeshi like your brother you know, Tsuna."

Tsuna paused at the statement and immediately felt the gaze of his father on his back. He shook his head, "No, I don't mind. Besides, you and Natsu-nii are a lot closer anyway."

"Well, if you say so. Nii-chan!" Yamamoto called as he turned to look over at his brother, "Can we get going now?"

"Oyaji, we want to get going!" Asari relayed to their father.

"Alright, you five. Just make sure not to go too far past the school, alright? And don't go near the cemetery either."

"We won't!" Giotto and Asari were out first, the three younger ones following behind them.

"Which house should we stop at first, Natsu-nii?" Tsuna asked with a large smile, a bounce in his step. This was the one time a year when he wasn't being watched by his father so he didn't have to watch what he did or said to make sure he didn't set him off or something. Plus, it was the only time he was actually allowed to go out with his twin, without said twin's insistence.

"We should go to Kyoko-chan's house first. She lives close, right? Then we can go to Mochida's."

"A-ah...Do we really have to go to Mochida's house, Natsu-nii?"

"Un! And it's not like we'll see him, since he'll be out too. Why? Are you scared?" Natsu teased.

Yes. "No!"

"Good! And it's not like anything's going to happen if we go."

That's a lie. He could get beat up when he goes back to school on Monday. Whether he was there or not, Mochida would find out that he was at his house. "Fine. But then, can we go see Hibari-san?"

"Geh, why would you want to see that stingy person?"

"W-well, Hibari-san's always really nice to me."

"He's not that bad, Natsu. He just has a bad temper," Yamamoto encouraged. He didn't like the thought, but it seemed Tsuna only ever wanted to be around Hibari during school. And no one else liked him very much so he didn't really have any friends. He may have considered himself one of Tsuna's friends, but that didn't mean Tsuna thought the same way. "And he is always really nice to Tsuna."

"How would you know, Takeshi? It's not like you're with them."

"But Tsuna's never come back with bruises like the other kids that go to see Hibari."

"Hm...Alright. Gio, can we stop at Hibari-san's house later?"

"Hm? Why would you want to stop at his house, Natsu? Isn't he always saying something like, 'I'll bite you to death for disturbing the peace', or something?"

"Tsuna wants to go see him."

"Oh."

"Sure, we can go. And it's not that far from Knuckle's house either so after we stop at his house, we can go to Hibari's," Asari said cheerfully though his eyes had narrowed as he looked over at Giotto. "You should listen to both your brothers, and not just one, Giotto."

"I-it's fine Asari-san! I don't really mind doing whatever Natsu-nii wants to go. A-and we don't have to go to Hibari-san's house if you don't want to. I'm sorry for saying it." Tsuna's mood dropped as he spoke and he held his head down.

"It's fine, Tsuna-kun! We really will go see him, if you want to."

"Really?" Asari nodded and Tsuna brightened, "Thank you, Asari-san!"

"Un. Now come on, we're almost at Kyoko's house."

* * *

"Giotto, this is by far the meanest thing you've ever done to him. Come on, we should go back, before he starts crying."

"Oh come on, Asari. It's not that big of a deal."

"Asari's right, Gio. I feel really bad for leaving Tsuna back there. He might be crying already. You know he doesn't like to be alone in the dark."

"Oh you guys worry too much. Now let's go, Knuckle's house is right around the corner."

"But we promised Tsuna that we'd take him to Hibari-san's house. Gio, you're being really mean to him lately! What's going on?"

"Nothing! Now let's go, we'll go back for him later. It's not like he'll move from that spot anyway." Yamamoto frowned as he watched them. This was weird. He had seen Giotto be mean to Tsuna before but never this mean. It was like it got worse everytime, but this was really over doing it.

"What if Tsuna ends up hating us because of this, Giotto?" he asked suddenly. Giotto seemed to freeze at the question and Natsu looked at him horrified.

"Gio, we have to go back and get him! Come on, please!"

"It doesn't matter if he hates me or not, I don't care."

"Well it matters to me because he's my twin and I love him! And I'm starting to hate you because you don't. I'm going back for him." Natsu didn't wait for an answer as he turned and ran, heading back to the place where they had left Tsuna. He sniffed. He really hoped Tsuna would forgive him.

* * *

Tsuna hiccuped as he sat down on the bench, clutching his bag of candy to his chest. He didn't know what happened. One minute they were there and the next they weren't. He didn't know which way they went since he didn't know exactly where Knuckle's house was, and he didn't want to get himself lost by trying to find them. That would only cause more problems.

He jumped when there was a rustle from the trees behind him. "Herbivore," Tsuna relaxed at the family phrase and stood, turning to the trees.

"Hello, Hibari-san!" he greeted cheerily, even if he still had tears in his eyes.

Hibari hummed in response as he climbed down the tree, and walked over to him. "Why are you out here alone?"

"Oh, um...I was with my brothers earlier but they...I don't think they noticed I wasn't following."

"They left you?"

"N-no! Well, yes but. I'm sure it wasn't on purpose!"

"Hm..." He stood still as Hibari looked him over, tilting his head to the side in confusion when he saw his face go red.

"Hibari-san?"

"It's nothing. You're a wolf?"

"Un, a werewolf! And Natsu-nii is a vampire. But, what are you Hibari-san? You aren't dressed up."

"Dressing up is childish. And I don't need to dress up to get candy." Hibari held up two bags filled to the brim with candy and smirked at the way Tsuna's eyes lit up.

"Wah, you're so cool Hibari-san! I haven't got that much candy though. Giotto-nii never waits for me so I have to skip sometimes." Tsuna's mood dampened at the mention of his older brother. "I don't think he likes me all that much."

"The herbivore is stupid." Hibari stared at him for a moment before holding out one of his bags of candy. "Here."

"Huh?"

"Take it."

"...W-what? No! I could never! You worked so hard to get all of this, if I just take it-"

"Take it," Hibari said with a small glare and Tsuna squeaked as he grabbed the bag. "It's yours now."

"But...Ok. Thank you, Hibari-san!" Tsuna answered brightly, large grin on his face as he held both his and Hibari's bag to his chest. "You know," Tsuna mumbled as he unconsciously started following behind the other, "I wanted to stop by your house tonight too, to see if I could see you. Asari-san said we could. Plus, your mom said she would make cookies this year."

"Hn." Hibari listened quietly as Tsuna continued to talk, not once bothered by the noise. Once they reached Takesushi, Hibari walked in and straight over to the counter. He paused. He hadn't expected Tsuna's parents to be here, though that made things easier.

"Oh, Hibari! Fancy seeing you here tonight. And, why do you have Tsuna with you but not the others?"

"Tsu-kun, why is your face covered in tear stains?"

"Oh, well..."

"They left him," Hibari said simply as he held out his bag. Tsuyoshi frowned as he dropped three pieces of candy in his bag.

"That's not very nice," Nana said as he wiped away the tear stains. "Gio-kun knows that Tsu-kun's afraid of the dark. Why would he do that?"

"I'm sure it was just a small prank, Nana. It's nothing to fret over," Iemitsu reassured.

Nana ignored her husband's words. "How long were they gone, Tsu-kun?"

"Mm...Ten? Ten minutes, I think. It was a really long time."

"Oh that's terrible. Gio-kun's gonna be in so much trouble when he gets back. Thank you for bringing him here, Hibari-kun."

"Hn. Herbivore." Tsuna ducked out from his mother's arms and walked over to Hibari. "Eat this." Hibari held up a caramel square that was already open, motioning for Tsuna to take it.

"But you already gave me one of your bags. I don't think I should-"

"It's fine." Tsuna blushed slightly when Hibari moved closer, caramel square still held out.

"But-..." Hibari poked his lips with the square when he tried to deny it again and he shrugged. It couldn't hurt, plus he was willingly giving it to him. He opened his mouth when Hibari pressed again and smiled when he saw the small blush on Hibari's face as he chewed. "It tastes good."

"Here," Hibari held up a mini twizzler and he opened his mouth again. Both failed to notice that everyone was staring at them, and the scene of flowers and sparkles they seemed to create as they continued.

* * *

Tsuna giggled as he waved. "Goodbye, Hibari-san! I'll see you on Monday!" Hibari waved back once before turning and making his way back to his house. Tsuna waited until he was out of sight before going back inside and closing the door, pulling off his shoes. His brother had run in with Yamamoto a little after they had gotten to the restaurant while panicking and yelling about losing him. Then once he had seen him, he had started apologizing like crazy and promising never to do it again.

Giotto had come back a bit later with Asari, pouting as he was reprimanded about leaving him there alone. He ended up having to wait until he ate dinner to eat his candy and was supposed to stay home all day tomorrow. He wasn't really mad about it, but his mother would say that he should be and would try to convince him to say something to him about it. So he didn't say anything at all.

He grinned as he sat down at the table. He was so happy that Hibari had been so nice to him tonight. Sure, he was nicer to him than he was to others, but he'd never been that nice before. H was glad he got to see him. Tonight was a good night after all.


	15. Chapter 14

Thank you to the following reviewers!** thor94, Cielo-Caelum, MetalGodlv66, Haraguroi Yukirin, history, Crucifix Hime, lovelydragonfly, Eriyum, 11jaemin16, lunar and solar girl, YamamotoAna, Guest, jazica, Sky Fortuna, NatRipper and tlaurence7.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR**

* * *

"So, do you want to tell me your name now?" Tsuna asked as he dried Lambo's hair.

"M-my name is Lambo. U-um, thank you for helping me, Tsuna-nii." Tsuna smiled and hummed in response, glancing up when the kitchen door opened.

"What did she say?" Tsuna asked when Mika walked back in.

"Kantoku said that it'd be fine if he stays here for the time being. But you have to take him with you once you go. And she said to make sure he doesn't disturb our work or cause any trouble. Plus, she gave me this." Mika held up a dark green onesie and Tsuna nearly facepalmed.

"Why does she carrying around such strange things?"

"Apparently they were her lucky item today."

"...No comment. Anyway, you can tell Kana-chan the food is ready while I put this on him? And don't tell her he's in here."

"I won't, Tsuna-san, I would never subject him to that kind of torture." Mitsu snorted in the background as he placed the food on the trays and put them on the counter closest to the entrance to kitchen.

"She always finds out when we're hiding something, so it won't last long."

"Mitsu, you're not helping. I'll go call her, Tsuna-san." Tsuna smiled and nodded as he zipped up the onesie.

"Alright, Lambo. I have to keep cooking, so I want you to behave while you wait. Ok?"

"Hai, Tsuna-nii." Tsuna laughed softly when Lambo climbed up onto his shoulder and stayed there for only a moment before climbing on top of his head. Tsuna ignored the flash that went off from Mitsu's phone as he walked back over to his cooking station. He would ask him to keep it from Mika later. Who knows what she'd do if she got her hands on a picture of him.

* * *

"Uwah, that meal was amazing!" Natsu exclaimed as he set down his chopsticks, a satisfied look on his face.

"As expected of Tsuna," G nodded, doing the same. "Anyway, we should get going."

"But, can't we order dessert? It would be a waste to go without trying some of his sweets, don't you think?" Yamamoto asked, setting his plate on the tray in the center of the table.

"Yeah, yeah. I agree with Takeshi. We should order some dessert. Please, Gio? When we walked in, they were showing a special. We could get that. Please?"

Giotto looked over at G who shrugged and looked over at Reborn, who nodded. "Ok, we'll get dessert. But please don't order too much cause I don't have that much left on me."

"Ok!"

"Did I hear someone say dessert?" Kana asked as she walked up to their table, menus in hand. Natsu and Yamamoto nodded and went to take the menus but Kana gave a mean smirk as she held them just out of their reach. "Listen, kay? You seem like nice guys and all so I wanna be clear when I say this. You seem to know Tsu-chan on a personal level, and most of our customers do after some time of coming here. But it's not ok when this is the first you've shown up here."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Wait a minute. You think that because we know Tsuna-"

"See! You aren't supposed to know him if this is your first time here, unless you see him outside of work. Which would mean you see him at school, which automatically labels you as potential bullies."

"I've never bullied Tsuna before! Why would I even-"

"Do his other bullies have a reason to do it?" Natsu stopped himself from countering, knowing what she said was true. None of Tsuna's bullies ever had a good reason other than, 'Because he's useless,' and 'He deserves it.' So he couldn't really say anything about that.

G cut in before either could say anything more. "I assure you that none of us here have bullied Tsuna. So you have nothing to worry about."

She looked him over for a moment. "And how do I know I can trust you?"

"Oh, you don't. But do you really think we'd be acting this casual if we were some of Tsuna's bullies?"

"Then why are you here?"

This time, Reborn cut in. "Kai, here," he motioned to Natsu, "Just because captain of the basketball team. So we're out having a celebration party as congratulations. Does that warrant them as some of Tsunayoshi's bullies? I would hope not or there would be something very wrong with your standards." He smirked. It was annoying to speak so polite but it was worth it to get her off their case for the time being.

Kana glared at him with a huff. "Fine. But if I find out that even one of you are bullying our precious light then you _all_ will be banned, do you understand me?" They nodded and she handed out the menus. Her friendly smile was back now and the untrusting aura had completely disappeared. "Please take your time," she said sweetly as she picked up their plates and trays. They watched as she walked off before settling back into their seats, Natsu slightly confused.

"Why would she think we were Tsuna's bullies?" he asked, glancing over at Yamamoto and G for answers. The former shrugged.

G sighed. "Think about it. This is a really popular restaurant, right? So, tons of people in Namimori must've heard about it. And the mass, _mass_, majority of the school are Tsuna's bullies. And among them are those that actually have the money to come to a high classed restaurant like this. So, something must've happened at some point while Tsuna was working with one of his bullies."

"So...Anyone that doesn't come here regularly and already knows Tsuna, is automatically labeled as a suspect?" G nodded and Natsu frowned. "But that's not fair. What if it was one of Tsuna's friends or something?"

"Tsunayoshi doesn't have friends, that we know of, Natsu. And if he does they probably don't go to our school since we've never seen them before," Giotto said.

"Well...True."

"Plus, if Tsunayoshi did have friends that came here, then they would know them since it couldn't possibly be a lot."

"You have such little faith in Tsuna, Giotto. It's kind of sad, you know. Considering you're his older brother," G muttered.

"Oh my gosh, we are _not _doing this right now."

"Whatever you say." Giotto sighed and rolled his eyes, setting the menu down after he decided what he wanted.

* * *

"They want dessert?" Tsuna asked with an exasperated sigh. "Kana-chan, I feel like you're doing this on purpose."

"No idea what you're talking about, Tuna."

"Don't call me that," Tsuna muttered as he got out the ingredients needed. "And haven't you scared them off yet? I thought you would've threatened them by now."

"Oh I did. But they wouldn't leave. Anyway, tables nine, eleven, and one. And that person you brought in wants to talk to you."

"You mean Mukuro?"

"The freaky dude with pineapple hair? Yeah, him."

"You're supposed to learn their names, you know."

"Whatever. And, there's someone else here to see you~. He says he'll wait until you're done." Tsuna gave her a confused look as he nodded. Who would be waiting for him? And how did they know he had work today? "Anyway, you should get started! There's a lot to make!"

"And whose fault is that?" Mitsu muttered as he glared over at her.

"You wonder why you don't have a girlfriend."

Mitsu blushed darkly, "That doesn't have to do with anything!"

Mika snorted and laughed as she got out three large bowls. "That's totally not the reason why. It's because he's so obsessed with Tsuna-san that he thinks of nothing but him."

"Mika!"

"Now now you two, calm down. Lambo's trying to sleep, remember? And you're _still_ not supposed to be back here, Kana-chan."

"I'm going, I'm going. I want any leftovers."

"Yes, of course." Tsuna sweatdropped when he turned around to find the two still arguing, only in whispers instead of shouting. "Really, you two. And I'm sure you'll find someone soon, Mitsu-kun. You're have the perfect personality for an overprotective boyfriend and most girls like that."

"Tsuna-san," Mitsu's eyes sparkled as he looked 'up' at Tsuna, eyes watering at the imaginary rays of sunshine shining right on him.

"Now let's get started, yeah? There's still a lot left to do."

"Hai, Tsuna-san~!"

"_Toritsukare_," Mika muttered under her breath.

"I am not!"

* * *

"Can we go now?" Giotto asked, finished with his second slice of cake.

"How can you only eat two? This is too good to be wasted, Gio. Eat some more."

"If I eat anymore I'll pop," he muttered, cringing when Natsu downed another slice. "Please chew your food. It's very disturbing watching you eat like this, Natsu."

"Then don't look," he responded, mouth full."

"I want to go home," Giotto sighed, pushing his plate up to rest his head on the table. "I'm stuffed and tired because _someone_ decided it was a good idea to wake me up three hours earlier than they had to so we could 'go over' this stupid plan."

"Now who's the whiner? And you can't leave until we're all done since you have to pay for your share."

"I could just leave the money and go."

"But you won't do that because I'm your precious younger brother and I could possibly be mugged on the way back."

"With these three with you? Not likely."

"You're not leaving. Now shut up and eat."

"I'm not eating anymore."

"Then I'll take it, your loss. And you can't complain about it later."

"What if I wanted to wait until later to finish the rest of it?"

"Too bad," Natsu mocked as he took the two slices left on Giotto's plate. "Maybe you shouldn't have had such a big main meal."

"One, I didn't know we were staying for dessert. And two, yours was way bigger than mine!"

"That's besides the point."

"If you keep chatting away I'm taking your cake," Reborn mutter as he finished his last slice. Natsu pulled his plate closer as he glared at Reborn, hurriedly stuffing his face. "That's what I thought. Anyway, hurry up. I have a meeting to go to in an hour and I want to get some sleep before then."

"You sleep?" Natsu asked in fake surprised. "I thought you just stayed awake and watched Tsuna sleep all night."

"What was that,_ kozou_?"

"_Kuso jiji_." G facepalmed and Yamamoto laughed, Giotto rolling eyes when the two started back and forth.

* * *

"You want to what?" Tsuna asked in surprise as he stared up at Mukuro.

"I would like to walk you home. There are many dangers out there, you know. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you on your way back."

"B-but are you sure that's ok? I-I mean, don't you have to get home too? And I don't think we live in the same direction. You don't have to, r-really."

"I want to, trust me."

Mitsu glared at Mukuro from behind the kitchen doors, grinding his teeth in frustration. Mika had Lambo on her head as she continued cooking, not bothering to call him back over to help. It wouldn't do anything anyway, so there really was no point. She sighed. She wondered how her brother hadn't become a stalker with how much he fawned over Tsuna. But, she shouldn't jinx it. Who knows what would happen.

"W-well...I-if you're sure it wouldn't trouble you."

"It won't, promise."

"...Ok. My shift ends at three."

"Then," Mukuro gently pressed his lips to Tsuna's knuckles, "I'll be waiting, Tsunayoshi-kun." Tsuna turned a cherry red as he nodded, gently drawing his hand back. Mukuro chuckled and ruffled his hair before going back to sit down at his previous seat and Tsuna turned and went back into the kitchen, deciding not to think about the mumbling Mitsu in the corner as he redid his bandana again.

"Alright. We have a lot of regulars that just came in, so let's get started."

"Of course, Tsuna-san."

"Tsuna-san~!"

"Yes, Mitsu-kun?" Tsuna asked, not bothering to turn around.

"H-how could you let that - that _thing_ touch you."

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "And what's wrong with letting Mukuro touch me?"

Mika snorted, "It sounds so much worse when you say than when he says it." Her comment was ignored.

"He could be planning something! What if he's after you? Like - like, like Sumano-san at table eight?"

"One, I met Mukuro _today _so that's not possible," Mika giggled at this, "And two, _Samona_-san is not after me in any way."

"Because you don't see the looks he gives you, Tsuna-san."

"That's because he's not giving me any looks to see, Mitsu-kun."

"B-but-"

"Mitsu-kun, why don't you help your sister with the other tables' orders while I do the dessert?"

"Mm...Hai, Tsuna-san." Tsuna smiled softly and gently pat the other's head.

"It's fine, Mitsu-kun. Nothing's going to happen, ok? You don't have to worry."

_But it makes me worry even more when you say that!_ Mitsu thought to himself.

* * *

"Alright Tsuna-chan! That's all for today. Midori-kun just came in so you can head home now."

"Ah, hai!" Tsuna pulled off the bandana and untied the apron, hanging them up on their appropriate hooks, running a hand through his hair after pulling on his jacket. "Alright, I'm going now, you two. C'mon, Lambo." Lambo hopped up into his arms and climbed up onto his shoulder, settling into his hood as he sucked on a grape lollipop Mika had given him.

"Bye, Tsuna-san. Stay safe!"

"I will. You be careful on your way home."

"Of course."

Tsuna turned to Mitsu who was pouting in the corner, an aura of gloom surrounding him. "Mitsu-kun," Tsuna said softly. "Since, your shift is ending too...Would you like to walk home with me and Mukuro?"

Mitsu brightened immediately as he turned towards Tsuna, sparkles glittering in his eyes. "Really? I can walk home with you, Tsuna-san?1"

"_Un_! If you don't mind."

"Of course not! I'll do my best to protect you!"

Tsuna sweatdropped, "F-form what, exactly?"

"Tsunayoshi-kun, are you ready?" Mukuro asked as he poked his head into the kitchen.

"_That_," Mitsu growled out.

"Mitsu-kun, be nice. You don't even know him." Mitsu pouted. "Ready, Mukuro. But, you really don't have to if you don't want to."

"He shouldn't whether he wants to or not," Mitsu muttered as he pulled on his sweatshirt.

"Nonsense, Tsunayoshi-kun. It would be rude if I didn't considering you brought me here in the first place." Tsuna gave a small, awkward laugh as he sweatdropped. _That's totally not what happened, though._

"No, I'm sure we'd be fine without you."

"And your name is?" Mukuro asked, finally acknowledging him.

"Kamuro Mitsuru. Mitsu for short, though I'd rather if you didn't call me so casually."

Tsuna frowned and gently elbowed him in the arm. "Behave, Mitsu-kun. That's rude." He received an eye roll with a huff in return. "Sorry, he's just not used to seeing anyone but regulars and the workers here so close to me."

"I...see."

"Problem, pineapple?"

"Not at all, *_Matsuru_?"

"_Mi_tsuru, you _**dannato ananas perve**_-"

"Mitsu-kun!" Tsuna scolded. "I'm sorry, Mukuro. Maybe this wasn't the best idea-"

"Mitsu, if you keep troubling Tsuna-san I'm pretty sure you'll never be able to walk him home again," Mika said from where she'd been watching.

"E-eh? Ah, I'm sorry, Tsuna-san! Please don't be angry."

"Oh right," Mika smirked, "You can't walk Tsuna-san home today because mom said-"

"Tsuna-san's protection is much more important than what mom wants me to do."

"Even if she's totally going to beat your ass if you don't do it?"

"Hiiee! What? Mika-chan, you're joking, right?" Mika shook her head and Tsuna panicked. "Then Mitsu-kun really doesn't need to walk me. He can go home with you. I'll be fine, promise. So you really shouldn't worry."

"But Tsuna-san!"

"I will not let you get in trouble with your mother, no buts."

Mika grabbed the back of her brother's sweater when he went to take a step forward. "I'll make sure he doesn't, Tsuna-san. You should get going or you'll get in trouble with _your _parents. We don't want that to happen, right?"

Tsuna's eyes faded some at the mention of his parents and he nodded, smiling softly. Mukuro's eyes narrowed at the minute shift. "_Un_. We'll be going then, Mika-chan. Mitsu-kun. Take care, you two."

"You too, Tsuna-san," both replied, one more listless than the other. Tsuna waved as he and Mukuro walked out. He sighed softly. Back to his horrid life, he supposed.

* * *

Translations:

_**Toritsukare: **_Obsessive.

_**Kozou: **_Youngster

_**Kuso jiji:**_ Old fart

_**Matsuru:**_ Worship - He's making fun of the way Mitsu practically worships the ground Tsuna walks on

_**dannato ananas pervertito:**_ Goddamn perverted pineapple

_**Un: **_Yeah

* * *

Happy Halloween!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I sincerely hope none of you got trampled over Black Friday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAY~!

And Happy New Year to you all!

* * *

I think that covers every holiday I missed and to come. So, hey~ there you guys. I know it's been a long ass time since I updated but let me explain. Two days after I posted my last chapter some...things happened. And I ended up having to temporarily move in with my grandma from my mom's side with my little brother while my mom and stepdad worked whatever it was out. Guess what? She doesn't have internet. _**How awesome is that?**_ So I literally died on the inside the near two months I spent there. We came back this afternoon and I've been typing since while trying to babysit...That doesn't work out very well. I feel like the world hates me sometimes. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter and I'm really sorry for taking so long.

Thank you to all those that favorited and like to those that didn't give up on me when it passed a month. I really hope this makes up for it. Mitsuru is an important character that will reappear later on, for those of you who are wondering. And the next chapter, which I'm working on as you read this, will have some one on one time between Mukuro and Tsuna. It may not be a lot, but it will be enough for things to progress.

* * *

PLEASE READ THIS! Now, let's talk about school, shall we? They changed the dates for my semesters so, instead of it ending before now, it ends the second week of January. Which means that I'll be cramming the first week, and then freaking out the next. And depending on my grades after that, I may or may not have the laptop because my mom is stubborn about good grades as I've said before in previous rants. So I don't know if I'll be able to update before the last week of January. Please don't be angry! OKAY, YOU CAN SKIP IF YOU WANT TO.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it. BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES!


	16. Chapter 15

Thanks to the following reviewers! **YamamotoAna, thor94, Nella Moonblood Royalle, Cielo-Caelum, 11jaemin16, and TsunaMoe.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any of the characters**

* * *

Tsuna shifted his hood slightly to make sure Lambo was comfortable. He hoped they wouldn't say anything about him staying because he really didn't want to have kick him out after just taking him in. Maybe he could hide him and find out a way to tell them so they'd consider it. "Tsunayoshi-kun?" Tsuna looked up at his name. "Are you alright? You're making a troubled face."

"...I'm fine. Just worrying about Lambo," he mumbled quietly.

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Your parents aren't cruel enough to kick a lone child onto the streets, are they?" _To me they are but_...Tsuna shook his head. "Then it'll be fine."

"I hope so."

"Tsunayoshi-kun, who was that person you were talking to during your break? You two seemed very close."

"Oh, th-that was Enma. W-we've been friends for...a while now, since we have similar -basically the same really- situations. A-at both home and school."

"Hm? Does he go to your school?"

"No, h-he's from Shimon, the town over. W-we met by accident once but it was for the same reason. A-and we kinda just...clicked. We talked a lot, after that. And we've kept in contact. A-and whenever things get a l-little hard, for him, I-I give him a place to stay."

"Does he not do the same for you?"

"He always says he would, b-but I never really a-ask for that kind of help before s-so there was no need to."

"So he stays with you?"

"Oh, no. I'd get in a lot of trouble if that happened. Th-there's a place that, my boss has set up for me i-if I ever need it. I-I let him use there whenever he needs to. My boss doesn't m-mind it either. Th-that's why he was there. He was letting me know he'd be staying."

"Does it happen often? You don't seem too worried about it."

"I-I am, but I'm just relieved that he's able to get away from it when he can. P-plus I can see him more often, wh-whenever he stays over."

"Shimon isn't that far a walk from here, right? Does he come frequently?"

"Not that often, m-maybe once or twice a month? About there. He says he doesn't want to be too much of a burden even though it's really no trouble at all."

"Tsunayoshi-kun, what kind of problems do you have at home?"

"Wh-what?"

"You said that the two of you have similar situations and if his are bad enough that he has to leave home from time to time, then wouldn't yours be the same?"

"W-well, yes but...I'd r-rather not talk about it. I-I'm not really allowed to, in the first place. E-Enma is the only one outside those that I've known since primary school that know about it. He shouldn't, really. B-but I felt really bad, because he thought that he was the only one. A-and I know what that feels like."

Tsuna was speaking out of worry now, fingers playing with the strings on his jacket as he frowned. Worry for how Enma was fairing because this wasn't his second time, this was his fourth time this month according to what he told him had happened during his time of absence. Things were getting much worse for him and he came in with three times the injury than normal and he had wanted to sit down and talk but, with how things were at his own house, that just wasn't possible at the moment.

Mukuro noticed the way some of the light returned to his eyes as Tsuna spoke about Enma and mentally nodded to himself. This boy has suffered much more than 'Enma' has but he thinks that 'Enma' has it much worse than he does, for some strange reason. And is needlessly worrying about something that he could not control for someone else rather than worrying for something he could make a change in for himself. Chrome was right, this boy cared much too much for others and much too little for himself.

"Ah," Tsuna's eyes faded to what they were before, " we're almost there. U-um, you don't have to k-keep walking with me, if you don't want to. M-my house is right there, s-so it's fine if you-"

"Nonsense, I'll walk you right up to the front door. It would be rude if I left now."

"W-well, i-if you're sure." Mukuro smiled softly and Tsuna blushed lightly when his hand was taken.

* * *

Natsu glared out the window as he watched them walk down the street. He and the others had taken a short cut -cutting through around 20 yards and jumping fences- to get back before Tsuna so he wouldn't suspect them and he had been waiting to see if that man was still with him. _And he_ _was._ He ground his teeth in annoyance when he saw him grab Tsuna's hand and could just imagine his twin blushing at the action. "Why is Tsuna even hanging around someone like that? Never seen him around before. He could be dangerous or something."

"Natsu, just come sit down. Nothing's happened yet, it's fine."

"But doesn't it bother you? Tsuna's so much closer to him than he is to us and he met him _today_."

"I'm bothered, but I'm not really surprised."

Natsu turned with narrowed eyes. "And what's that supposed to mean, exactly?"

"Listen, I'm not trying to offend you or anything. But think about it. You've been treating Tsuna like he's nothing for the majority of his life and he probably honestly think that you and the rest of his family hate his guts and want him dead. Your parents most likely do. You can't really expect him to be close to you after being treated that way for so long."

"And you're any better?"

Yamamoto sighed. "I didn't say that. I'm probably worse since I never did anything to help out even though I knew something was wrong."

"Well, he's walking through the gates right now. Let's go greet him."

"Don't say something stupid," he reminded with an all too cheery smile as he stood and followed behind the other.

"I-I know that!" Natsu said with a large, embarrassed blush on his face as he hurried down the stairs just in time to see Reborn opening the door. He glared as soon as Mukuro came into view, sneering when said person only smiled.

"And who might you be?" Reborn asked, fedora tilted up as he stared down at Mukuro with narrowed eyes.

"Rokudo Mukuro, and you are?"

"Reborn. Well, you brought him home so you can go."

"B-be nice," Tsuna mumbled as he nudged Reborn's arm.

"No, Reborn's right. I'm Natsuyama, by the way, Tsuna's older twin. And I think you should leave since you've dropped him off and all. Goodbye."

"Oh no, not yet. I believe Tsunayoshi-kun said that he would be willing to offer some tea. Right?" Mukuro asked with a gracious smile. Tsuna blushed lightly as he nodded -_why couldn't he stop blushing around this man?_\- and motioned for Mukuro to follow as he made his way to the kitchen after taking off his shoes, not minding it when Reborn and Natsu followed, Yamamoto tagging along. Just as Tsuna turned to ask the question Mukuro answered with, "A cup of Jasmine, if you wouldn't mind," before he could even get the words out. Tsuna nodded and got out the Jasmine along with what he'd need to make tea for Yamamoto and Natsu, espresso for Reborn.

"Do we have Jasmine?" Natsu mumbled, hands crossed over his chest as he continued to stare Mukuro down. He saw Tsuna's posture straighten slightly at the mention and looked over to see a small smile on his twin's face. "Tsuna?"

"W-we have a lot of...of different kinds. I-I u-used to collect them, wh-when I could."

"Tea collecting?" Yamamoto asked and Tsuna nodded. "Sounds interesting. But there aren't that many different types of tea in Japan to collect, are there?"

Tsuna giggled, and they blushed -not Reborn, because he's much too cool and Suave (yes, capitalized) to do that, no pink on his cheeks at all. "I thought that too, b-but after I started, I found out th-that there's a lot more than I thought. P-plus they have some imp-ported from other c-countries. They're harder t-to find and more expensive, b-but it's worth it."

"How many types of tea do you have?" Mukuro asked just before Natsu could. The latter glared while the former smirked, Tsuna completely missing the interaction as he brightened, turning around to open one of the cabinets in the far corner. Natsu raised an eyebrow. Wasn't that the one he wasn't allowed to open? Tsuna pulled out a box and set it down in the center of the table.

"That's...a lot of tea," Natsu muttered once he looked inside. Tsuna nodded as he poured the teas -and espresso- prepared. He set down the cup of Jasmine in front of Mukuro, iced tea for Natsu, espresso for Reborn, milk tea for Yamamoto -he had seen him drink it frequently at the sushi shop- and a cup of _bancha _green tea for himself.

"I had b-been collecting th-them for a while. I started w-when I was ten when one of the r-regulars had given their box of tea leaves to m-me since sh-she was moving and she thought I-I would enjoy them."

"Were you already head chef by then?"

"N-no, I was still in training."

"So what made you want to collect them?"

"W-well, at first it was b-because she'd had two d-different types of the same tea. A-and I wanted to know if there were m-more and try them for myself. And it p-progressed from there."

"What about the foreign teas in here?" Natsu asked as he picked up a packet of Indian Assam tea.

"I-I started collecting foreign teas w-when I was scouting for new tea types for the menu a-and I had tried English Breakfast tea. S-so I thought that, if we diversified our menu more th-then, the customers would be more satisfied. P-plus, it was really fun. Finding new ones, a-and trying them out. A-and, if I have friends I want to visit, I-I could bring it a-and make some for them."

"Friends like who?" Natsu asked, looking through a few more packets. So, Tsuna did have friends and they just didn't know. So that meant Giotto was wrong. And of course, he planned on rubbing it in his face.

"Like Enma?" Mukuro asked and Tsuna nodded, glancing up from his cup when he could feel the negative intent leaking from the three -three?- of them as they glared at Mukuro.

"H-he really likes Honeybush tea. I m-make it all the time wh-when I go see him."

"And Enma is?" Reborn asked, finally adding himself into the conversation.

"A f-friend that I've know for a-a while. I-I help him out wh-when he needs it, s-so we talk a lot."

"How long is a while?"

"S-since f-fourth grade."

Yamamoto choked and Natsu went into a short coughing fit as they stared at Tsuna in shock. That long and _neither_ of them had noticed anything?! Yamamoto practically lived at their house all throughout primary and middle school and they -well, _he_\- had always been trying to get Tsuna included.

He admits that he might've been really annoying to the younger, but he'd bug him nonstop until he'd agree to play with them for a little while. And when he wasn't, he'd be holed up in his room doing whatever it was he did in there, and they'd only see him the next day when he came down for lunch -_to make it, apparently_. Then he'd disappear up into his room again until dinner -_again, to make it_. He never really left the house unless it was school or _maybe_ work. Or if they had to drag him out with them or convince his parents to let him go. Halloween and Easter were about the only exceptions to that little rule.

"A-are you two ok?" Tsuna asked unsurely, gently setting down his cup.

"Y-yeah, we're fine Tsu...na. Sorry."

"I don't mind," Tsuna mumbled with a small smile. "You used to call me that a lot, w-when we were younger."

Tsuna flinched when he felt something tug on his and reached back to gently out of his hood. He'd almost forgotten he was in there. "Tsuna-nii?"

"Awake now, Lambo? How about we get you something to eat?"

"Hai!"

"Um...Tsuna? Who is that?"

"Lambo, I found him in the alleyway at the back of the shop. He doesn't have anywhere to go, and there isn't a way to contact any relatives."

"Does he even have any?" he muttered under his breath as he stared at the seven year old. Lambo stared right back before sticking out his tongue and making a face, snuggling into Tsuna's hold right after with a cocky smirk. Natsu looked at him in shock before glaring. Kid things he can mock him in his own house, we'll see how that plays out.

"Natsu-san, please don't glare at Lambo."

"B-but he started it! Little brat was mocking me!"

"He's only a child," Tsuna said softly with a small frown. "And a boy, be nice."

Reborn snorted as he finished the last of his espresso and stood, setting his cup down in the sink. "Nice going, brat. At least you got him to talk to you, right?"

"Shut up, you stupid old man."

Reborn ignored the comment as he wrapped an arm around Tsuna's waist and kissed his cheek, eyes smirking as he looked at the others when Tsuna blushed a bright red and stuttered uncontrollably. "I'm gonna go take a nap. Wake me up in two hours."

Tsuna nodded, "O-ok. Sleep well."

"Oh, I will." Tsuna gave him a confused look but brushed off the comment as Reborn walked upstairs, busying himself with getting Lambo something to eat.

"Do any of you want anything? Th-there's still time left before dinner."

"Oh, no it's fine, Tsuna. You don't have to do that if you don't want to." Yamamoto nudged Natsu's side and shook his head. "What?" he whispered.

"Tsuna loves cooking, just let him," he whispered back, glancing over at Mukuro who was staring intently at the two of them.

"B-but I don't mind. U-unless you're not hungry, th-then I wouldn't want t-to force you t-to eat."

"Then I'd love something to snack on, Tsunayoshi-kun. It will be a while before I get home, from here and I might not make it in time to make myself something to eat. Plus I wouldn't mind trying your cooking again." Tsuna _tried_ to say something in return, which only failed and led to him covering his face as he let out a sigh. He was being stupidly unreasonable right now. _Stop blushing dammit_.

Natsu's eyes narrowed as Mukuro chuckled at the cute display. Why was this annoying person still here? He already finished his tea and he didn't even look the slightest bit hungry. And _why does Tsuna_ _keep blushing around him_?

"I'll m-make something after I get Lambo seated. Y-you don't m-mind waiting, do you?"

"Not at all. Your food is worth waiting for."

* * *

Reborn stared at the phone in his hand blankly before frowning. Another troublesome person would be showing up, much too soon for his liking. It seemed like troublesome people were just swarming around Tsuna now and it was beginning to get on his nerves. He sighed as he laid down, hands behind his head. He'd deal with them when they came, since there wasn't really much he could do right now anyways. He just hoped they'd leave quickly instead of overstaying their welcome, like they tend to do. He huffed. This would be a long week.

* * *

So, that's it for this chapter. I don't think I have any translations in there but if I do could you tell me? I don't remember putting any in there. Thanks for reading, as usual and I hope you enjoyed it! Can anyone guess Reborn was thinking about in that last bit?

Um, Enma has been kind of introduced and he will show up in future chapters. (He kinda has to because he was mentioned and stuff.) Natsu is _so_ jealous of Mukuro and for once, G isn't all over Tsuna with worry when he gets home. Again, thanks for reading -so tired- and I hope you'll be back for more when I update next. I might post a filler chapter for Valentine's Day about Tsuna and Reborn but, I don't know yet. Let me know if you think I should or not and what you may or may _not_ want to see in it if I do.

That's all I have to say for now, I guess. BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;)


	17. Filler

"You want to what?" a nine year old Tsuna asked as he looked up at Reborn.

"I want us to go out for Valentine's Day, baka. Just the two of us."

"But aren't you only supposed to do that when you like someone?" Reborn held back from facepalming and sighed. Of course he wouldn't get it.

"Exactly. Now do you want to or not? We don't have all day to think about this."

"Well, I don't know why you'd want to go with me but, sure! I'm never allowed out during weekends unless it's work, so I guess it's fine. But, won't I get in trouble if I don't tell them?"

"It'll be fine. I'll wake you up tomorrow so pick something out to wear so we don't have to wa- You know what, nevermind. I'll pick it for you."

"B-but wait a minute. Don't you think-"

"Nope. Anyway, I gotta go. And make sure to get enough sleep, cause we're gonna be out all day."

"But- Reborn!" Tsuna yelled as the 14 year old jumped over his back fence with a back-handed wave. He sighed as he turned and walked back inside, closing the back door behind him. Honestly, that person was so random - he wondered what went through his mind half the time.

"Tsunayoshi?" Tsuna jumped as his name and turned to see his grandfather looking over at him. "Is everything alright?"

"O-oh, um. Y-yes, everything's fine, grandpa. W-why do you ask?"

"Just worried that something might've happened. You can never be too careful, you know. Especially around kids much older than you." What...did that mean? Was there something wrong with him being friends with Reborn?

"O...ok. I-I'll be up in m-my room, if you n-need anything." _Don't need anything, please!_ was his thought as he walked out into the hallway and upstairs. He paused when his elder brother stepped out of his room and looked up at him before awkwardly looking away, bowing his head apologetically and walking around him to get to his room.

"Tsunayoshi."

He stiffened. "Y-yes, Giotto-san?"

"I-I...um...Alaude and Hibari want to see you tomorrow morning, at the school gates. They...need to talk to you. Alaude said to bring food."

"O-oh. Th-thank you f-for telling me, Giotto-san." He bowed, waiting for Giotto to walk down the stairs before straightening up and walking into his room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

"You want to take Tsuna out on a date?" Iemitsu asked as he looked up at Reborn in shock.

"Yes. Problem?"

"Why not take Natsu out? I'm sure he'd be better than-"

"Because Natsu is a little shit that annoys the hell out of me. If I spent more than five minutes alone with him I guarantee that I'd end up strangling him."

"You haven't even met him yet."

"Then why would I take him out on a date if we haven't met yet?"

"Well, maybe _if_ you met him-"

"That kid's attitude is gonna get him killed if he keeps it up so I'd rather not. And why do you care if I take Tsuna out? It's not like you love him like a father or mother should so it shouldn't matter what happens, right?"

"Reborn, you're pushing your luck."

"And you're pushing yours if you think this will play in your favour. You're going to regret everything, you just wait. And yes, I'm taking him out whether you say I can or not." He turned to Nana with a smirk, just before she could speak. "And no, he's spending the night so you'll have to make your own food, _meinu._"

"Reborn-"

"Yes, _otoko shoufu_?"

"Really, Reborn. Your vocabulary gets worse each time we see each other again."

Reborn clicked his teeth in annoyance as he turned towards the voice. "Well I tend to pick things up on my jobs here, **Timoteo**." The old man only smiled kindly as Reborn glared at him. "And you're no better than them, turning a blind eye and letting all of this happen. No wonder Tsuna doesn't like you."

"Now now."

"Don't 'now now' me. You're all a bunch of shits and once Tsuna's old enough I promise I'm going to get him out of this hell hole and put your asses in jail. Shitty family. Anyway, I'm taking him out and you can't do anything to stop me or change my mind. And if you do _anything_ to him because he 'wasn't here to make dinner' or 'hadn't completed the chores beforehand' or anything like that, I will destroy your sanity. I'll be picking him up at noon." Reborn turned without another word and walked out, the door slamming shut behind him.

* * *

Tsuna let out a sigh of relief when he finally reached the school. Even though it wasn't a school day sometimes his bullies liked to hang around incase he went by since he'd have to pass to get to the shopping district. "Ah!" He brightened when two figures came into view. "Hibari-san, Alaude-san!" he called as he ran up to them.

Hibari stiffened as Tsuna ran up to them, glaring at Alaude when he snorted. "I-I brought the food you wanted," Tsuna said as he pulled out the bentos from his bag. He looked up in confusion when Alaude took them and put them in a bag he had brought.

"That will be my payment, thank you." He looked over at Hibari who looked away. "Go on." The 11 year old shook his head stubbornly and Alaude sighed. "Do it, or the carnivore will end up taking him first."

Hibari growled as he stepped forward, pulling something out of his back pocket and holding it out to the brunette. Tsuna stared at the small purple box wrapped in gold ribbon for a moment before looking back up at Hibari in confusion. "Hibari-san."

"...H-happy...valentine's day," he muttered as he looked down at the ground, a large blush covering his cheeks.

Tsuna's eyes widened as he grinned as he took the box. "Arigatou, Hibari-san! No one's ever given me valentine's chocolate before." Hibari nodded as his blush darkened and Tsuna giggled as he moved forward, standing on the tips of his toes to peck Hibari''s cheek. "Goodbye, Hibari-san, Alaude-san! I'll see you at school on Monday." He waved as he jogged back the way he came.

Hibari stared with wide eyes and Alaude sighed, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "There, now let's go. We have patrols." Hibari nodded and Alaude gave a soft smile at the elated expression on his face as they walked.

* * *

"Why am I wearing shorts?"

"Because it's been hot out lately and it's supposed to be really hot out today. And no. I don't care what your parents say so don't bother mentioning it."

"But what if it gets cold? Even if it's hot now it gets cold in the evening."

"Then we'll go to my apartment which isn't far from where we're going."

"Where are we going then?"

"It's a surprise. Now get in."

"Should you be driving? I don't think you're old enough to have a permit," Tsuna said as he got into the back seat of the car, putting on his seat belt.

"We'll be fine."

"That's not very reassuring coming from you."

"Chill, will ya? It's fine."

"But what if we're caught? Reborn-"

"I'm 16, have my permit, and I'm babysitting you for the day. That's all you have to say." Tsuna sighed in dismay as the car started.

"It's not my fault if you get put into holding again." Reborn snorted as he drove, ignoring the squeak from Tsuna as he made a sharp turn. "You really shouldn't be driving like this in this kind of neighborhood."

"And you're way too worried about stuff that won't happen. And we'll get there faster this way."

"If we crash, I'm not going to visit you while you're in the hospital."

"No worries cause you'll be there too, in the same room."

"...I highly doubt that," Tsuna mumbled with a deadpan. He screeched as he jerked to the side, flailing as the seat belt did absolutely nothing to help stop him from falling over. "Reborn!"

"...Stupid dogs," the raven mumbled under his breath. "Wasn't my fault." Tsuna gave a shaky sigh as he readjusted his seat belt. Please let him make it through this.

* * *

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Reborn asked as he pat Tsuna's back. Tsuna glared -pouted, because his eyes are barely even narrowed- up at him as he panted.

"Can we just go do whatever we're supposed to do, before I puke? And where even are we-..." Tsuna stared at the sign in front of him before facepalming.

"So? Happy or what?"

"I...Am still fairly upset that you did all that. But..." Tsuna gave a squeal as he turned, wrapping his arms around Reborn's waist as he giggled. "Thank you thank you thank you! This is the best ever!"

Reborn chuckled as he ruffled Tsuna's hair. "I knew you'd like it. You kept saying how you wanted to come here so I put aside some money to pay for it when I came back. Now let's go. This place closes pretty early."

"Ok!" Tsuna hummed happily as he followed behind Reborn into the amusement park, holding out his wrist when the lady had to put on the free pass wristband. "So where are we going first?"

"Where do you want to go first? This is for you, after all."

"Oh then...Ah! How about we go over there?"

"Where?"

"There! The ring toss! I've seen people on TV play it before and it looks really hard."

"So you want me to play it?"

"Un! Because Reborn is good at everything, so you'll win, right? And get me that stuffed lion, right there."

"...Aren't you putting a little too much pressure on me for something like this?"

"But..." Tsuna pouted as he looked up at Reborn who sighed and ruffled his hair.

"I'm kidding, let's go. Plus we don't have to pay, so we can go as many times as we want."

"...You're not going to show off, are you?"

Reborn snorted with a small shrug. "Maybe. But, you want the lion, right? So I'm gonna get you that lion."

"Thank you!" Tsuna cheered as he followed behind him, watching with bright eyes as Reborn asked for three rings.

Reborn raised an eyebrow when the man smirked and looked down at the second ring he was given. Ah, there was a notch on one of the sides. So if it hit, it'd flip the other way instead. Well, might as well make a show out of this.

* * *

**Tsuna giggled as he hugged the lion to his chest while Reborn grinned at the man at the stand. "And, I'll have that rabbit too, thank you." The man glared at him as he handed Reborn the small, stuffed, light brown rabbit with floppy ears and a light pink nose. "Alright, Tsuna, where do you want to go next?" he asked as they bypassed the small crowd that had gathered.**

"Can...can we go on the teacups? Please? Natsu-san always gets to go on it!"

"Sure, let's go. But, you know I'm not going to slow down, even if you tell me to."

Tsuna nodded as he pulled on Reborn's arm. "I'm prepared for this."

"Well, if you're sure."

Tsuna sat down in the pale yellow teacup with the lion in his lap while Reborn sat across from him, bunny held in his free hand, his other hand on the wheel as he waited for the person to give the go ahead. Tsuna braced himself when the entrance closed and the teacup started moving slowly in one direction, squeezing the lion to his chest as he waited.

Reborn grinned and Tsuna stiffened, his widening. He was not prepared for this, he was _not_ prepared for this. "Wait, Reborn, I don't think-"

"Nope!" Tsuna let out a squeal as the teacup spun, trying his best to stay upright as the force nearly knocked him over.

* * *

Reborn laughed as he helped Tsuna out of the teacup and walked him over to the exit. "You ok?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Let's just...never do that again," Tsuna responded, lion clutched tightly in his grip as he tried to catch his breath. "A-anyway, what do you want to do? Aren't you supposed to be having fun too?"

"It's enough knowing that you're enjoying yourself. But I wouldn't mind getting something to eat. Did you eat before we came?" Tsuna shook his head. "Then let's get something to eat. You can have anything you want so long as it doesn't cost a lot, and you'll actually eat it."

"Takoyaki!" the little brunette replied immediately. "Giotto-san said it tastes great and the people on TV always talk about buying it whenever they come here so I want some."

"Alright then, we'll get you some takoyaki." Tsuna smiled as Reborn grabbed his hand and pulled him along, weaving through the crowd of people to find the takoyaki stand. Once found, Reborn lifted Tsuna onto his back as they stood so he could watch as they were made. "Reborn, have you had takoyaki before?"

"No, this'll be my first time."

"Wah! Really? Then we can share our first time together!"

"Aww!" Reborn turned at the coos to see a girl walking up to him. Oh great, here we go. "Is this kid your little brother?"

Tsuna made a face. "Reborn, do we look alike?"

"Not in the slightest. No, he's not my little brother, I'm just babysitting him for the day."

"He looks so adorable. You two look really close, have you known each other long?"

"...A few years now. Is there a reason you wanted to know?"

"He just seemed to like you a lot so I was wondering. Plus you didn't seem all that bothered with the way he clung to you."

"Well I've gotten used to it."

"Ah! Reborn, Reborn look! He's taking them out of the frier." Reborn turned at the gentle tug at his hair and watched as the man topped the 12 balls of takoyaki. "They look so good."

"Do you even eat octopus? Anyway, if you don't mind, me and Tsuna are gonna go sit down and eat. And I'm sure you have a date to get back to since no single girl would come here alone on valentine's day." He had Tsuna give the money -cause he'd seen Natsu-san get to do it before so he wanted to- when he took the food, turning away from the girl. "Nice talking to you, goodbye." Tsuna watched the girl as they walked away, frowning when she glared at him.

"Reborn, did I do something wrong?"

"No, why?"

"She looked angry at me. Did I do something to upset her?"

"Just ignore her. You can never figure out what goes through a girl's mind so it's better if you just accept whatever it is and move on. Besides, it's not as if she can do anything to you. Right?" Reborn asked as they stopped at an open table, setting the food down before letting Tsuna off his back.

"Yup! Because Reborn will protect me, like always. Nee?"

"Of course. Now let's eat."

"Hai!"

* * *

**"****So, did you have fun?"**

"Yup! Lots of fun. Can we come here again when I'm older? I wanna go on the big kid rides!"

"Sure. But you have to be good for me to take you out like this again. This was just a special occasion."

"You mean a date, right?" Reborn nodded as he finished his icecream. "Reborn...Why did you want to go on a date with me? Aren't you supposed to go on a date with someone you love or like-like?"

"You already asked me this."

"Yeah but, you never answered."

"Well, your answer is in your question."

"Then...But why would you love me? I've never really done anything all that great for you so..."

"You don't have to do something great for me to love you. You just have to be you."

"But isn't it weird for a boy to love another boy? That's what the TV says."

"Well they're always saying things that aren't true, so you should listen. And the people that are saying this are the ones that have never been in love."

"Oh! That makes sense! Because they're jell...jeallo...jealous, right?"

"Right. And good, you sounded out the word, just like I taught you." Tsuna beamed at the small praise he was given. "Anyway, we should get going. It's going to start getting cold out soon and I don't want you to get a cold."

"Ok! Am I staying at your apartment tonight or do I have to go back home?"

"You're staying over. That's why I told you to bring that bag of extra clothes."

"I thought those were for if I dropped food on my clothes or tripped and got dirt on them."

"Well...That too. Anyway, come on." Tsuna didn't protest as Reborn picked him up, watching the people go by as they walked towards the exit.

"Nee, Reborn," Tsuna mumbled, chin resting on his shoulder.

"Yeah, Tsuna?"

"What...made you fall in love with me? Because I don't think I'm very loveable."

"No one thinks of themselves as loveable unless they're either a narcissist, or they've been told that by many people before. And...You're very cute, and special in your own way, even if you don't see it. And I don't want you to let anyone make you think different."

"But..."

"I love you because you're you, and you're not afraid to be you after all you've been through. You're much stronger than you give yourself credit for. And I love you because of that."

"That's..."

"And you're a great cook so when we get home I want you to make me some curry for dinner."

Tsuna sighed as he shook his head. He should've seen this coming. Honestly. "I'll make your favourite type too, as my gift to you for Valentine's since I can't really do anything else."

Reborn chuckled. "You can do plenty, you just don't know it yet."

"If you say so."

* * *

**Tsuna hummed as he set two plates down on the table, sitting in the seat across from Reborn. "There you go."**

"Thanks...Hey, Tsuna?"

"Hm?" Tsuna looked up at him in question. "Yes?"

"Could you promise me something?"

"Sure, if I can do it."

"...Promise me your first kiss."

"...What?" Tsuna stared at Reborn in confusion as he set his fork down. "What do you mean?"

"I want to be the one to take your first kiss. So you aren't allowed to kiss anyone on the lips until I do."

"...Why?"

"Because a first kiss is important and you're important to me."

"Well...Ok. It's not like anyone else would want my first kiss anyway so it wouldn't be a problem. But, you've been acting weird. You've been all mushy gushy all night."

"Well, love makes you do weird things, just remember that for when you get older and I do something stupid to impress you."

"But why would-...Nevermind, I don't want to know."

"So, your first kiss is mine, right?"

"Un!"

"And no one else's."

"And no one else's, promise."

"Good." Tsuna giggled when Reborn reached over and ruffled his hair, brushing the fringe out of his eyes. "Now eat and then we'll go take a bath and go to bed."

"Ok. Um...I..._Aishiteru_, Reborn," Tsuna mumbled with a large blush, hands covering his face.

Reborn stared at him in shock for a moment before smiling softly. "_Ti amo troppo_, Tsuna."

* * *

Translations:

**Meinu:** Bitch

**Otoku Shoufu: **Man whore

**Aishiteru:** I love you

**Ti amo troppo:** I love you too (But I'm sure you already guessed)

* * *

Heyyyyyyyy...I know, I know. This is late. But, hey! I totally have a valid excuse for this one...I'll let you know when I think of it.

Anyway, I thought this was adorable in its own weird sort of way. Since, you know, Tsuna was nine and all they couldn't really do anything really romantic or it'd be weird and awkward for the two involved and everyone watching. And that cute little scene with Hibari - to all my 1827 readers! You are welcome, ya? And for the first time comments, when I just started this story, about how it should be a parental!Reborn fic instead. _This_ is why it isn't. And yes, Reborn is way way way out of character but I like to imagine him having some childish innocence when he was younger instead of being so serious all the time. I'm not sure if I'm going to do a filler chap for easter or not but I might, with Natsu, Tsuna, and Yamamoto when they were younger...prolly.

Timoteo - Yes, in the anime he's this sweet old man that cares more than he lets on. But I honestly don't think so, because he's involving a complete civilian into all this mafia business _after_ he already sealed his flames and ruined his life because he was 'harmful' to him. Like, are you effing serious right now? So that's why he's such a bastardo on here. You don't have to agree with me, but I'm pretty sure some of you would have questions as to why I made him like that.

Um...Alaude! There was a little brotherly love -you can see it if you squint real hard- in there between he and the younger skylark. It was cute to me. So, yeah, he's nicer than everyone else thinks he is.

That's...it, I think. I'd be willing to answer any other questions you have when I update next, which should either be at the end of this month or early March. As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed my late valentine's filler! BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;D


	18. Chapter 16

Thanks to the following reviewers! **Cielo-Caelum, Ichigo15kurosaki, thor94, roseapplelovesflowers, 11jaemin16, history, YamamotoAna, and SnowDecimoShiro.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR**

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Tsuna blinked, cocking his head to the side. "What? You know Chrome?" Tsuna asked over the phone. He and Mukuro had exchanged numbers when he left and Mukuro told him that he'd call him that night. He hadn't really expected him to. '_Yes, for a while now.'_

"Then you're the friend she's been talking about! Have you gone to see her yet? She's always so worried about how you're doing since you don't come by all that often."

'_I've just gotten back from visiting. She always talks about you whenever I do so I was glad I finally got to meet you today. She was worried about you.'_

"Well I'm glad I got to meet you too. She really looks up to you, you know. Is...is she cleared to get the surgery yet? Is that why you're back?"

'_Yes, I've finally raised enough money to pay for it. It's been scheduled for Thursday of next week so it'll still be a while before anything gets done. She won't be able to have visitors for some time after that either.'_

"Then I'll make sure to visit her as much as I can before then. Ah, I have to go. I'm still making dinner."

He laughed softly when Mukuro chuckled. '_Goodbye, Tsunayoshi-kun.'_

"Goodbye, Mukuro." Tsuna put the home phone down with a small sigh, looking down when he felt a tug on his pant leg. "Yes, Lambo?"

"Who were you talking to, Tsuna-nii?"

"I was speaking with Mukuro just now. The one that left earlier."

"Oh...He's creepy." Tsuna chuckled as he ruffled the seven year old's hair. "Maybe a little bit. Anyway, you go watch some TV while I finish making dinner, ok? And try not to bother my brothers or Reborn too much. I don't want them getting angry at you."

"Hai, Tsuna-nii!" Lambo replied just before running into the living room. He waited for a moment before walking back into the kitchen. He really hoped Lambo would stay quiet this time. He hummed as he re-added the previously removed tofu to the pan and stirred slowly as he added a few more seasonings to the dish before pouring on the beaten eggs, stirring quickly to make sure it fried up nicely.

There was a field trip coming up soon, a little before their first break of the year, and the second and third years were going to Okinawa while the first years were going to Osaka. So he had wanted to try a dish that was often made in the Okinawa Prefecture to see what their food was like, and he heard Natsu mumbling something about trying it before actually going over there. Of course, he probably wouldn't end up going with everyone else - and he knew this - but, he still wanted to at least try it. Even if he couldn't taste the real thing himself.

He jumped when someone touched his shoulder from behind, his eyes fading for a moment before lighting back up once he turned around, Reborn giving him a small smirk as he wrapped his arms around Tsuna's waist. "What is it?" he asked softly as he reached over to turn the stove off and moving the pan off the hot burner before turning fully around.

"Your thoughts were about to take a dark turn so I thought I'd stop it before that happens." Tsuna rolled his eyes, muffling a giggle with his free hand when Reborn's fingers tickled his sides. "Anyways, I heard about the trip thing. I'll pay for you if _they _don't." _They_, referring to his parents who he's been seeing less and less of, lately. He knew Reborn had said or done something when he was out but, he couldn't really guess what it was since he hasn't been able to read their expressions lately. Wait, no. That thought was wrong. "And you can't object because I've already made the payment and since I'll be the teacher looking over your class on the trip, I'll be there to make sure you're ok too."

Tsuna frowned. "Reborn, you've been acting a little weird recently. Is something wrong?" _Yosh!_ He finally managed to stop stuttering around him when speaking more than five words. Reborn always had this hurt expression on his face whenever he stuttered around him, so he's been working on it. A lot.

"I'm just worried, that's all. I can't be worried about you?" he mumbled, eyes making a quick glance to the doorway as his smirk widened the tiniest of bits.

"Well, you don't normally-" Tsuna paused in shock, blushing a bright ruby red when Reborn leaned forward and pecked the corner of his lip.

Natsu fought as Giotto pulled him back into the living room, hand covering his mouth to block all the curses he was spewing as his hands made strangling motions, glaring heatedly at Reborn as he was dragged away.

Reborn snorted as he rested his chin on top of Tsuna's head. "Your brother's an idiot," he mumbled.

"Which one?" Tsuna asked, giggling when Reborn tickled his sides again.

"Both. They're annoying, and the brat is loud."

Tsuna huffed and rolled his eyes. "You're just mad that I don't spend enough time with you now that they aren't ignoring my existence."

"G was enough to handle with his overprotective tendencies. I didn't need them added to the list. And then you brought another one home. How are you even going to handle him?" Reborn asked as he pulled back slightly from the hug.

He hesitated. He hasn't really put much thought into it, he just knew he couldn't leave Lambo out there alone so he would have to figure something out. The orphanages here weren't all that great to foreign orphans. "It...It can't be that hard. He's small, and he listens well...Mostly. It'll be no different than if he was my own."

"So you're basically adopting the kid," Reborn supplied with a huff. "Tsuna, you're too young to be thinking and worrying about a kid. Plus, you have to worry about getting better too, you know that."

"I know but...I couldn't just leave him there. You _know _I could never do that."

"I know, but this is still a big deal, Tsuna. This is going to take a lot more than you think. Plus, once those assholes of parents you have find out, they'll probably call child protective services to come and get him. And even if I've been able to keep them away from you, I can't do anything to help that kid. This is still their house."

"I know that. B-but I couldn't just leave him there. H-he was crying, and he was shivering s-so bad, a-and he looked so scared when I spoke to him. And-and I _know_, I know how that feels. And I couldn't...I couldn't just _not_ doing anything about it. I couldn't just _leave _him there-" Tsuna hiccuped as he remembered. Remembered all the times his parents had locked him out. Lying to his brothers that he was at a friends house. When they forced him to stay in the basement as punishment. When they locked him in the shed. When he was forced to wander the streets at night looking for a place to stay so he wouldn't freeze to death because they'd barely ever given him anything to cover up with. All the times when he thought they'd finally end his life, only for them to patch him up and lock him back in his room to wait for more punishment to come.

"Tsuna. Tsuna, look at me. C'mon, look." Tsuna felt his hands shaking as he looked up at Reborn. Tears running down his cheeks as his breath caught in his throat. _He couldn't breathe._ "Tsuna, you need to calm down. Focus on my voice. Breathe in." Tsuna took a shaky breath before it caught in his throat again, clenching Reborn's hand when the older man's fingers slipped in between his own. "Breath out...In...Out...There, you're doing great. Just keep going. In...Out...In...Out. See, you're fine. You're ok."

His shaking calmed as he rested his forehead on Reborn's chest, said person's free hand going through his hair. "What...what just happened?" He mumbled once he was sure he could speak.

"You started on a panic attack. You stopped before the worst of it though. Has that happened before?"

Tsuna shrugged. "Maybe...maybe once or twice? I can't really...remember." Reborn frowned. So this was worse than he thought. If anymore symptoms started popping up he'd have to start assuming the worst. This wasn't nearly as bad as the first time.

"Tsuna, why don't you get the table set up and I'll call the others in here, ok? And after dinner we're going to have a little talk. And no, you didn't do anything wrong, and you're not in trouble. I just want to talk with you. Ok?" Tsuna nodded as he pulled away, letting his hands drop to his side when Reborn let go.

* * *

"Are you sure that this is where Reborn is staying right now? It seems a little too...Normal and homey for him, hey."

'_Yes, I'm sure. He purposely left the chip in his phone so we could track him here. And he hasn't moved at all since the call so he's definitely in there.'_

"Are you positive?"

'_Yes! God, you're annoying.'_

"Alright, alright. No need to get grumpy, hey."

'_Just make sure to be careful when you get in there. The kids are all civilians and then there's the one out of the three that Reborn favours. You need to figure out which one that is.'_

"I don't get why _I_ was the one that had to come. He hates me, hey."

'_Yes, but he can't do anything too bad to you because of the civilians, you idiot. Now hurry the hell up and get your shitty ass in there or we're going to have problems!'_

"Like me getting my face bashed in?" The person muttered as he hung up, putting the phone back in his back pocket.

"Well?" His companion asked. "How are we doing this?"

"She said to just go in. Since he can't do anything because of civilians and stuff, hey."

"And the one he favours?"

"She wants us to find out on our own, hey. I'm pretty sure she knows already though by the way she spoke about it."

"Then we should get going, should we not? Before she gets even more angry than she is."

"Before she gets angrier. Your proper speech is beginning to get slightly annoying, hey."

"I am still learning, of course."

"Right..."

"Then let's get going, yes? We don't want to wait too long." He huffed as he hopped down from his spot in the tree, his companion following shortly after. "And don't do anything too rash or he'll still end up hurting you."

"I know, hey!"

* * *

"Thanks for dinner, Tsuna. It was great!"

"Yeah, thanks Tsuna. Your food tastes awesome!" Tsuna blushed softly at the compliments as he nodded, collecting the empty plates on the table and putting them in the sink. He flinched when his father's gaze turned to him but instead of saying anything, he only slightly inclined his head before standing and walking out of the dining room/kitchen, his mother following closely behind him.

"Ignore them, Tsuna. They obviously have problems with manners along with being psychotic." Tsuna chuckled softly at the face his twin made. At least he didn't seem so tense around him anymore. But that might be because Yamamoto is here.

"Tsunayoshi." Tsuna turned to his elder brother, tilting his head slightly to the side at the eyebrow twitch. Ah, G was glaring at the back of his head. That made sense. "Why don't you go get ready for bed while I do the dishes? You've been doing a lot more around the house recently." Rehearsed lines, G was really trying to get him to make an effort.

"Th-thank you, Giotto-san."

The glare hardened. "A-and you can, um, drop the suffix, if you want. You don't have to keep referring to me so formally."

"B-but you said...Ok, i-if you're sure." Giotto nodded once and Tsuna nodded back before rinsing his hands and wiping them off. Tsuna bowed before quickly walking out of the kitchen and upstairs to his room. He'd probably hear G yelling at his brother a little later.

He sighed softly as he stepped into his room, closing the door behind him. Of course, Reborn was already waiting for him while reading- "Wait, is that the manga I had hidden away in the back of my closet?"

Reborn glanced up at him before shrugging. "Maybe. I was bored and you don't have that much stuff in your room."

"That doesn't mean you-...Oh my gosh, this is just like the first time you showed up."

"Exactly. You're too tense right now, Tsuna. You need to calm down. This talk isn't about anything bad."

"I know, I know," he mumbled as he sat down. "Alright. What did you want to talk about?"

Reborn sighed as he sat up, setting the manga down on the beside table. "Alright. Now listen. I know, this may seem weird. Considering how I maybe kind of acted around the first time I left, when we were younger. And I know that-"

Tsuna frowned in confusion. "Wait, what? First time? What do you mean?"

"Tsuna, I-"

"You're leaving? What-what-Reborn, you said-"

"Shh, Tsuna, that's not what I meant. That's not what I meant. Calm down."

"Then what- Reborn..."

"It's fine, Tsuna. I'm not leaving anytime soon. And if I ever do leave, I'm taking you with me. I've already told you that."

"When...when I was younger, you said that."

"Exactly. Now, just, calm down, ok? I'm not leaving you."

"O...Ok. I'm sorry. For freaking out."

Reborn chuckled as he pulled Tsuna into his lap, kissing his forehead for reassurance as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's fine, Tsuna. I should've worded it better than that. I scared you, sorry."

"I-it's..." Tsuna sighed as he relaxed into the hold. "It's fine. I should...I should know that you wouldn't...Wouldn't leave me like that."

"Tsuna. Tsuna look at me." Tsuna pouted as he shook his head. "Look," Reborn tried again. The brunette sighed as he looked up at him, rubbing at his left eye.

"You know, I'd never do anything to hurt you like that. Right?" Tsuna nodded. "Then why are you so jumpy tonight?" Reborn asked softly. "I've never seen you like this before."

"I'm-I'm just-I don't know. I've just been feeling really...really weird lately."

"What do you mean?"

Tsuna glanced down at his hands before looking back up at the Italian. "Reborn. W-what..." His voice shook as he spoke and he took a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

Frowning, Reborn sat up a little straighter to pull him closer. "Tsuna?"

"Reborn, I-I can't remember what I've been doing. The past two days."

* * *

I am the shittiest person _alive!_ What am I doing?! You guys are probably confused as hell and/or pissed as crap. I know, I'm mean. I've been binge watching Teen Wolf after recently finishing the Maze Runner series -all books and both moves- and I don't know what happened. This is _not_ how this chapter was supposed to end. I just finished the third season and I'm starting on the fourth. And hey, guess what! It's almost been a full year since I started this fic!

...I am just the worst person ever, I'm sorry. Haha, I just realized I've been jumping from thing to thing. I've been doing that lately. Sorry.

So I broke my laptop and I've been using the computer downstairs, which is the one my step-dad uses all. The. Time. Plus I'm almost never allowed on here since I'm always doing _something_ wrong which equals a "No, you can just use the ones at school when you have time. You'll live." And in my head I'm just here thinking, _Yeah, sad to say it's not going to be the same for you._ Don't worry, I haven't killed him...Promise. But yeah, finally got to type this up. I really don't know what happened at the end there. That wasn't supposed to happen until the next one, or the one after...or never. Idk. But, it happened. And I'm probably going to give a shitty explanation for it in the next chapter. Sorry, I'm sorry. I'm terrible.

I've been sleep deprived from binge watching. I love Thomas Brodie-Sangster, by the way. I'm starting on an obsession with him. It's really bad. Maze Runner, Scorch Trials. I'm going to cry so much when the last movie comes out next year, Feb. 17th. I'm really excited but I know for a fact that I'm going to hate it. Oh my gosh. It's going to kill me watching it. Feels and Emotions, whyyyy?

**Kay! Enough of my ranting!** I hope you guys liked that chapter and I hope you don't mind how late it is. I tried to get it up yesterday but that didn't work. Obviously. I know some of you thought that just now. But I got it up today! Before the 20th. Yay! I don't think there were any translations in this chapter - I'm doing this after somewhere after 5:30 in the morning and I haven't slept the past two days. Please don't kill me. And I have a question for you guys willing to look for an answer.

_What do you think is wrong with Tsuna?_

I probably won't say anything until a few chapters...couple chapters? I honestly don't know which one to use anymore, I'm so confused. If anyone comes close or gives the right answer I'll let you know! That about wraps it up. I guess we're done now. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope none of you are plotting to kill me. And that's that. BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES! ;D


	19. Chapter 17

Thank you to the following reviewers! **11jaemin16, YamamotoAna, Cielo-Caelum, Ichigo15kurosaki, SnowDecimoShiro, AngeliqueSora, Crescent, Arista the Psycho Ink Mistress, Undertheskys, Lavalilly, giselleavellaneda09, SleeplessForest27, Harya, 1ch1g0Lv3r, D C JoKeR H S, and 2 guests.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR**

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"_Tsuna. Tsuna look at me." Tsuna pouted as he shook his head. "Look," Reborn tried again. The brunette sighed as he looked up at him, rubbing at his left eye. _

"_You know, I'd never do anything to hurt you like that. Right?" Tsuna nodded. "Then why are you so jumpy tonight?" Reborn asked softly. "I've never seen you like this before."_

"_I'm-I'm just-I don't know. I've just been feeling really...really weird lately."_

"_What do you mean?" _

_Tsuna glanced down at his hands before looking back up at the Italian. "Reborn. W-what..." His voice shook as he spoke and he took a deep breath to try and calm himself down._

_Frowning, Reborn sat up a little straighter to pull him closer. "Tsuna?"_

"_Reborn, I-I can't remember what I've been doing. The past two days."_

* * *

Reborn stared down at him in shock and confusion. "What do you mean 'The past two days'?"

"Not today but, Thursday and Friday. It's not that I don't remember anything at all. It's that I don't...I don't remember the majority, and what I do remember it's-it's really blurry and hard to...And hard to tell, if it really happened or not."

"Explain. What do you remember for Thursday?"

"I remember waking up, and making breakfast for everyone. And then, there's a skip. And I'm at school, and you're there, taking attendance. And then, I don't remember anything else until close to the end of the day. I was...I don't know what happened. But I think my bullies got to me, but before they...Before they could do anything Hibari-san came. All I remember from that was that I was on the ground, and my bullies were out behind him. And he was asking if I was okay. That's...That's all I remember from Thursday."

"You don't remember anything after that?" Tsuna shook his head, hands shaking as he clenched his fingers together. "What about Friday?"

"Waking up, making breakfast, going to school..."

"What else?"

"I...After that, I remember coming home and everything after that, all the way up to now."

"And that's it, that's all you remember from yesterday?" Tsuna nodded, "You should've told me. Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Well I...I didn't want you to worry. You always look like you're worrying about something or another and I didn't want to add to that. You've got more important things to think about."

"Tsuna..." Reborn sighed softly with a small frown. "You're way more important to me than you think. I want you to trust me with stuff like this, ok? I'm never too busy for you. You know that, right?"

The 16-year-old nodded, resting his head on Reborn's chest. "I know. Thank you." Reborn hummed and Tsuna grinned as he looked up at him, cheeks tinted a soft red. "Love you, Reborn."

Reborn chuckled in response, leaning down to kiss Tsuna's forehead which caused him to giggled. The two stared at each other for a moment before Reborn leaned down to press their lips together, pulling back after two seconds. Tsuna stared at him blankly for a moment before blushing brightly, eyes shining as he smiled .

Reborn took this as a go ahead and leaned back down to kiss him again, arms tightening slightly around Tsuna's waist. Tsuna leaned into the kiss, eyes closing as his shoulders relaxed. He felt himself give a small jolt when one of Reborn's hands trailed down from his waist to rest on his left thigh, giving it a soft squeeze.

He breathed in deeply when they pulled away and leaned back slightly, taking in Reborn's loving expression in relief. He thought he'd be horrible and mess everything up.

"Ahem." He blinked at the sound and slowly turned his head, mortification welling up in his chest when he saw both his mother and father standing in the doorway, both looking furious. He ducked his head, hiding his face in the crook of Reborn's neck while the Italian only huffed with a roll of his eyes.

"Thanks for ruining that. Would you like me to do the same to your lives?" Reborn asked with a barely suppressed growl.

"You've already done that," Iemitsu replied.

"Apparently not enough. What do you want? Thought I told you I didn't want you anywhere near him unless it was dinner."

"Well we're not in here for him. Two people are here and they say they need to talk to you."

"And both of you had to come to tell me that?"

"Well I'd like to have a talk with my son, once in awhile," Nana said softly with a small smile. Tsuna's eyes faded at the cold tone, leaning limply against Reborn under the view of his parents.

"When I'm dead," Reborn muttered more to himself, shifting so Tsuna's face was out of sight. "Well, you can leave now since you've done what you came to do." He shooed them away, ignoring the glare from Iemitsu. The two left and Reborn waited until they were downstairs before standing, gently pulling Tsuna up with him. He frowned when he didn't respond and sighed softly, kissing Tsuna's forehead before pulling him along as he exited the room. He glanced down at the door knob. He'd have to get a lock for the inside, and maybe change the outside lock along with that.

He paused at the bottom of the stairs before ushering Tsuna into the living room, sitting him down next to Natsu. "Watch your brother. And if you hear gunfire outside, ignore it. And keep the other one inside too."

"Got it," Natsu replied as he flipped to a different station, pulling Tsuna closer. He leaned back slightly to watch Reborn leave, the door closing behind him. He'd rather not get into whatever was about to happen, considering one of the guys was a foreigner dressed like he was from the army and was carrying a sniper on his shoulder. And the other looked like Hibari. Yeah, no thank you. That's plenty enough reason to stay away.

He looked down at Tsuna and frowned at the vacant look in his eyes. Maybe he should've tried harder to stop his parents from going up there. He thought it'd be fine since Reborn was there but apparently not. "Sorry, Tsuna," he mumbled, resting his chin on his twin's head. Tsuna leaned back into him but didn't say anything in return.

* * *

"What do you want?"

"Kora, Reborn. Is that anyway to greet a friend after a long time of not seeing each other?"

"We're not friends," Reborn snapped in annoyance. "Now tell me why you're here."

The one that had remained silent stepped forward in a pacifying manner, a placid smile on his face. "She wants us to have a meeting, all of us. And she wants to make sure that you will come, since you've been skipping recently."

Reborn rolled his eyes, clicking the safety back on his gun. "And that's the _only_ reason?" he asked suspiciously with an eyebrow raised. "I know she wouldn't send you both just for that. She would've sent Skull if that was all. So why else are you here? And don't bother making something up."

"It's not like we wanted to come here, kora. She said we had to or else." The blonde grinned when Reborn sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"That doesn't answer my question. What's the other reason you're here, Colonello?"

The blonde gave a weak chuckle with a shrug. "Ask Fon, you're less likely to kill him if he answers and I rather like my life, thank you." The Asian only smiled pleasantly at the two of them, completely undeterred by their conversation. It was better to let them talk instead of interrupting, or they'd be fighting for the rest of their stay.

"If it's a reason that could warrant my agitation, enough agitation that I'd want to kill you, then you shouldn't be here. Maybe you should use that brain you have for once, instead of letting it shrink from neglect."

"H-hey! That was a totally uncalled for insult! I didn't even do anything, kora!"

"Your presence is bad enough," Reborn retorted. "Now why are you here?"

"Well..." Colonello mumbled unsurely before looking at Fon.

"We're here to see the boy. She's noticed and she's worried something has happened to him for you to be here now. So we were sent to check."

"To check on what?"

"Iemitsu. She thought something might've happened to him which would have cause harm to the boy, which would cause you to come here."

"You're being repetitive. Is there something you're not telling me? Does she know something else?"

"Now now, no need to get worked up. And it is nothing worth mentioning at this point in time."

"Meaning that it _is_ going to be worth mentioning later, so you might as well just tell me now and get it over with."

"But that would defeat the point of me saying my previous statement."

"_Fon_," Reborn growled in annoyance while the martial artist just smiled. "I'm not going to play you're little game. Either tell me or leave, I don't want you here longer than you need to be."

"Well that must suck, huh?" Colonello cut in with a sly grin, "Because we aren't leaving unless you're coming with us. And we all know how that's going to be a problem."

"Maybe if the meetings weren't so far away it wouldn't be a problem."

"They're secret meetings, that need to be held secretly, in secret places. If we had them anywhere then we'd be giving ourselves away. You know that," the blonde complained.

Reborn rolled his eyes and Colonello copied his actions, Fon sighing in between them. "If you two start fighting, please take it somewhere else. We aren't supposed to be alerting others of our position, and I'm sure gun fire will do just that."

"Then _leave_, and don't bother coming back. Unless the meeting gets moved, I'm not going anywhere."

"Reborn, you're being irrational. Maybe we should go in, sit down and talk over tea. We won't say anything that would give us away, and we won't mention anything unrelated. We'll just introduce ourselves and then have a nice, quiet talk. Ok?"

Reborn stared at him blankly, mulling over what he said. It would be bad if Iemitsu were to ask questions. He'd probably make a big deal out of it, blow everything out of proportion. It would get annoying fast. And then Giotto and Lambo would ask questions. Which would lead to Natsu asking questions, and being obnoxiously annoying about getting the answers. Tsuna would probably stay quiet and then ask later...He would definitely end up asking later. But he wouldn't push, unlike everyone else.

He glanced over at Colonello who had his hands behind his head, expression expectant as he stared, both of them waiting for an answer. If he said no they'd more than likely ignore him and try to find another way in. Which would only cause more trouble, unneeded trouble. His eyes narrowed. "Fine. You can come in, but I don't want you making conversation with them, and don't answer any questions the brats have. They don't need to know anything."

"Is there anything else we should know before we go in?" Fon asked.

Reborn thought for a moment before frowning. "When you see him, don't ask." He didn't say anymore, only turning and opening the door, motioning for them to go in.

Colonello and Fon glanced at each other questioningly before making their way inside, taking off their shoes and placing them next to each other. Reborn closed the door before pointing to the kitchen.

Natsu peaked into the hallway when he heard the door open to see the two from before coming on, Reborn closing the door behind them. He watched as they walked into the kitchen before turning his attention back to the TV. "Hey, Tsuna," he said after a minute, "Why don't you go make some tea for our guests?"

Tsuna looked at him momentarily before nodding and standing, making his way into the kitchen. He bowed politely when they turned to him and walked over to the cupboards, pulling out two different boxes of tea bags and a small container of coffee mix.

Fon looked at Reborn in confusion and Reborn shook his head. The Hibari look-a-like frowned, unnerved. He's seen that look on many people before in his line of work. Those that had gone through tragedies, the loss of a family member, psychological abuse, even physical abuse. But they had all been raised in harsh environments, bad areas, poor towns. But he'd never seen someone so young look so...broken.

Colonello stared as he watched the kid prepare their drinks. Well, Reborn obviously had a good reason to tell them not to ask. The kid looked so fragile, so weak and worn. He's seen some bad things before but this? This was horrible. And the kid wasn't even in the mafia! He knew that just because you weren't involved, didn't mean things never went wrong. That not everyone could have a peaceful, ignorant life. But he wasn't expecting to see something this bad. Especially not from the child of _Iemitsu_, of all people. The man was always going off about his wife and kids. About how amazing they were, and how much he loved and cherished them. Though he never spoke much of his youngest, he hadn't thought...

Reborn frowned as he watched the two think. He knew this would happen once they saw Tsuna, that's why he didn't want them saying anything once they did. That little shit, Natsu was going to get it. He turned his attention to Tsuna, who had just finished making their drinks. He nodded his thanks when Tsuna set his cup down in front of him, the other two doing the same. "Tsuna." Tsuna turned to look at him. "These are my colleagues, Fon and Colonello."

Tsuna turned back to the two and bowed. "I'm Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna. It's nice to meet you," he introduced himself softly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Tsunayoshi-kun," Fon replied with a small smile.

Colonello nodded, "Nice to meet you, Tsuna. So, um, if you don't mind me asking," the blonde ignored the glare he was given, "how did you and Reborn meet? He's not all that friendly, and it's been a few years since he's been in Japan, right? So how did you meet, kora?"

Tsuna chewed on his lip for a moment before opening his mouth to answer when he was interrupted by Natsu walking into the kitchen. "That, would be none of your business. Plus, you know, you could ask Reborn if you really wanted to know. I'm Natsuyama, by the way. Tsuna's older twin. You can call me Natsu. Anyway, Tsuna, let's go watch TV." Natsu smiled when Tsuna nodded and pulled him along as he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Colonello raised an eyebrow at them before turning to Reborn who shrugged. "It was probably because they had no idea who you were and you were asking a personal question," Fon surmised as he sipped his tea. "You should know better, Colonello."

"Well I just wanted to know how Reborn and the kid met, kora. It's not like Reborn would tell us anything about it."

"Yes, because I like my privacy. Maybe you should consider that next time," Reborn muttered with a glare before bringing his cup up to his lips. "Try again and it won't be Natsu that'll interrupt."

"All right, fine. No need to get testy, kora." Reborn rolled his eyes. "Anyway, why don't we talk about why we're here?"

"Good," Fon said with a small smile. "Let's do that. So, why won't you come to the meeting, Reborn?"

* * *

Natsu frowned as he listened in on the talk. Ok, so maybe not his best idea. But he wanted to know why those guys were here. No offense to him or anything, but Reborn wasn't the kindest person there was so he doubted the man had many, actual, friends. He glanced over at Tsuna, who was curled up in the space next to him, staring blankly at the TV. He couldn't tell if Tsuna was watching it or not, but whatever.

He looked up when he heard footsteps and leaned forward to peek into the hallway, waving his brother over when he saw him come down the stairs. Giotto gave him a confused look before walking over, glancing at the three in the kitchen. He sat down on the other side of Tsuna, unconsciously resting a hand on his head as he looked at Natsu. "Who were they and why are they here?"

Natsu motioned for him to be quiet, whispering, "I don't know but I think they're from whatever job Reborn has. He skipped a meeting."

"Why are you listening in?" Giotto whispered.

"Because this is probably the only way to find out any info about him. Now shut up, will you? I can't hear them with you talking."

"You know Reborn is going to find out and threaten you not to tell anyone."

"I didn't plan on telling anyone anyway. Now shush." Giotto sighed in exasperation with a small shake of his head. He glanced over at Tsuna, face remaining indifferent with frowning eyes.

He was still zoned out but his eyes were a little brighter than before, so maybe it wouldn't take as long for him to come out of this one. Tsuna turned to him, as if sensing the gaze and gave him a blank stare. Natsu glanced between the two of them before nudging Giotto in the side. The blonde almost sighed but gave a small smile to Tsuna instead. He didn't want to upset Natsu. Again.

Tsuna blinked before giving a small smile in return, his eyes brightening considerably. Giotto stared as Tsuna turned back to the TV, seeming to be actually watching it this time as he looked at the screen.

* * *

Reborn frowned, taking another sip of his coffee. "How long?" he asked, gaze steady as he stared at the two.

Colonello cleared his throat. "She said it's been a couple weeks now. She doesn't know when exactly it started, but it's in its early stages, kora. There's still time, but we'll have to hurry."

"That is why she sent to come and get you this time. If we do not move fast enough, it will be too late to stop it."

Reborn sighed, setting his cup down. "And how much time will that take?"

"We're not sure, hey. She estimates somewhere around a month or two before it reaches the second stage. After that, we can't do anything."

Reborn thought for a moment. Two months at the most, one month at the least. He'd have to work around that for the court case. If things kept going the way they were, Tsuna would probably be stable enough in about two weeks, maybe a little less if that idiot starts trying. He'd see if he could set it up some time next week. He's already got the documents together, and a few witnesses that'd be willing to vouch for Tsuna. He'd have to figure a specific date for it through all the chaos that's going to happen within the next two and a half months.

"All right. I'll start looking, but I'm still not coming to the meeting unless it's moved to a closer location. And don't bother me for the next two weeks."

"What-"

"Private. Don't ask."

Colonello raised his hands in defense, a small smirk on his face. "Whatever you say. Anyway, kora, we should get going. You know who will throw a tantrum if we're late and it's annoying listening to him whine."

Reborn snorted as the three of them stood, walking to the door. "Wimpy brat."

"Oh, and there's something else."

"What?"

"Someone may have overheard our conversation about where you were staying and what school the kid goes to-"

"Why were you talking about his school?"

"No reason, kora! But they overheard and they said they plan on stopping by and staying for awhile. So, just a heads up kora."

"Reborn," Fon said softly, "if anything happens. You know that you can call us, right?"

Reborn blinked. "I know. Now go away, you've stared long enough." Fon smiled softly at the look he was given, nodding as he pulled Colonello out the door before the other could start something. Reborn sighed to himself as he shut and locked the door. "What do you want?" he asked, turning around to see Natsu walking up to him.

"Tsuna's sleeping, for one. And no, I'm not going to ask because it's obviously something personal. But you paused for a long time, so I'm going to assume you were thinking about the court case, right? When are you going to set it up?"

"I plan on getting everything in order next week. Haven't decided on when it'll be held yet."

"Ok. And I think...I think Gio is trying now. At least, I don't know, he didn't completely ignore Tsuna just now." Reborn nodded and Natsu nodded back. "You'll...make sure he gets better, right?"

Reborn huffed, reaching forward to roughly ruffle Natsu's hair. "Of course, brat. As if I'd just leave him like this. Anyway, you should head to bed too. It's late."

Natsu nodded again, "Ok. Goodnight, Reborn."

* * *

Reborn stepped into the living room after putting Tsuna to bed, sitting down in the armchair with Giotto on the long couch. "Oi." Giotto turned to him, waiting for him to speak. "I'm taking your parents to court about the abuse. Natsu and G have already agreed and I have a few other people lined up to defend Tsuna. You don't have to come, but I'm just telling you so you know."

"I-...Ok...I'll go."

"Witness or court?" Giotto's teeth clenched and Reborn nodded. "I'll give you time to decide. You have a week and a half." Reborn didn't wait for a response, standing and walking out.

Giotto sat quietly as he thought. He knew he should go, at least. And he knew that Tsuna needed a lot of help on this, because, according to everyone else, a lot of people disliked him so they would probably vote innocent for his mom and dad. Though...Giotto sighed. OK. He would do this, even if he didn't really feel like he should. But, it was for Natsu and...for Tsuna.

* * *

...I honestly have nothing to say about this. We moved over the summer and I'm taking a few college classes early so I can get my Bachelor's Degree early. I'll be pretty busy and my updates will be irregular. I'm so(20x) sorry for taking so long. I meant to get this up yesterday but some stuff happened with my cousin and I can't post from the app. Anyway, I really hope you guys liked this chapter and I'll try to make them longer from now on. Sorry again, for taking so long. I'm really sorry. BYE-BEE MY LOVELIES ;P


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